1. Identify rhetorical considerations
Audience
Context
Purpose

2. Research the object Do background research Use your senses
Take measurements
Describe motion and change
Describe the context
Collect visuals
Ask subject matter experts

3. Decide on organizational scheme
“Clearest Descriptive Sequence”
Spatial
Functional
Chronological

4. Components of a Technical Description
Title
Introduction/General Description
Detail
Conclusion

5. Components of a Technical Description: Introduction
Definition, function, and background of item
Purpose
Overall description
Principle of operation
Preview of major parts

6. Components of a Technical Description: Detail
Part One in descriptive sequence
Definition
Shape, dimensions, material (with specific visuals)
Subparts
Function
Relation to adjoining parts
Mode of attachment
Part Two in descriptive sequence
Part Three in descriptive sequence

7. Components of a Technical Description: Conclusion
Summary
Interrelation of parts
One complete operating cycle

8. Strategies Use clear and delimiting title:
“A Description of a LeMond Cyclocross Bike” vs.
“A Description of the LeMond Cyclocross Bike’s Hub”

9. Strategies Use clear and delimiting title
Use an appropriate level of detail and technicality (who? How? Why?)
Use objective language

10. Use objective language
Filter out personal descriptions
Select details that are concrete and specific enough to convey an unmistakable picture
Poor: His office has an awful view, terrible furniture, and a depressing atmosphere.
Better: His office has broken windows looking out on a brick wall, a rug with a six-inch hole in the center, missing floorboards, broken chairs, and a ceiling with chunks of plaster missing.

11. Strategies Use clear and delimiting title
Use an appropriate level of detail and technicality (who? How? Why?)
Use objective language
Use precise and informative language

12. Indefinite
Precise
a late-model truck
a 2006 Ford F150
an inside view
a cross-sectional, cutaway, or exploded view
next to the foundation
adjacent to the right side of the foundation
a small red thing
a red activator button with a 1-inch diameter and a concave surface

13. Strategies Use clear and delimiting title
Use an appropriate level of detail and technicality (who? How? Why?)
Use objective language
Use precise and informative language
Use visuals