You can’t miss the articles written by new technical authors on LinkedIn. Most of these articles contain the same message I read 20+ years ago. These lack originality; pursuing them risks plagiarism. For instance, many new technical articles repeat the same advice or insights as those published years ago.
I started my career as a technical author over twenty years ago and began blogging when I launched my website in 2004 (www.techwriting.co.uk). These days, I often ponder writing an original article. Can I provide new insights, or is it better to repackage existing knowledge? My recent posts have taken a deeper dive into familiar topics, with explanations that have improved with experience. Reflecting on past technical articles, I often seek ways to add my perspective.
The Stagnation of Fundamental Principles
The way I approach my job and the principles I use as a technical writer have remained unchanged despite technological changes. Between 1997 and 2004, my software work included EDIs. Today, we call them APIs. The design of APIs has remained consistent for the past 20 years, highlighting that originality is more about presentation than content. This is especially evident when you review technical articles published over that time frame.
Common Themes and Content Patterns
Repeated themes are common in technical writing. Many articles cover similar topics, leading to information overload. This issue is especially prevalent in large organisations where teams often duplicate documentation. In many teams, technical articles tend to follow predictable patterns and similar structures throughout.
While on a contract, one developer pointed to duplicate articles aimed at new starters. During my analysis, I discovered new starters were reading the wrong information. They missed the updates because the authors did not announce their publication or location. Duplicating technical articles without proper version control can easily lead to confusion among readers.
Examples of Repetitive Content Patterns:
Overlapping internal documents between departments confuse and slow things down. Repeated legal and safety warnings in technical manuals contribute to monotony. I used to work at a company where each business unit had its own way of managing changes, incidents, and similar tasks. If a company-wide problem occurs, how will different departments coordinate their responses? Clearly, technical articles on these subjects end up echoing the same principles over again.
Managing Repetition: Content Reuse and Modular Writing
Technical writers employ various strategies to manage repetition. I adhere to the “Don’t Repeat Yourself” (DRY) principle, “Don’ts promotes Content reuse over duplication. Using CMS lets me write and reuse content I’ve created anywhere, preventing inconsistencies. Modular writing is another effective technique. For consistent quality, technical articles are often structured around modular writing and content reuse strategies.
This method divides content into reusable parts that can be combined to create different documents. It is employed in healthcare, engineering, and software documentation. As industries evolve, the creation of technical articles has benefitted greatly from modular and reusable writing methods.
Industry-Specific Trends: Finding the Balance
Different industries take varied approaches to balancing originality and repetition in technical writing: – Writers working in software, engineering and medical fields often produce technical articles tailored to regulatory requirements and audience needs.
- Software Documentation: Because of rapid technological advances, software documentation often requires frequent updates. The structure of API references, user guides, and troubleshooting sections has remained the same over the years. Writers in this field prioritise clear and accessible writing over introducing new ideas. It is not surprising that technical articles tend to preserve similar structures for ease of use.
- Engineering and Manufacturing: Technical documentation in these sectors prioritises accuracy and compliance over originality. Manuals and safety guidelines must be consistent and precise, which often results in high levels of content reuse. – Therefore, many technical articles across engineering are nearly identical except for specific details.
- Healthcare and Medical Writing: Medical writers must use consistent wording to meet regulations, even if it limits creativity. Medical technical articles frequently rely on templates and repeated sections.
Striking the Right Balance
While much of technical writing involves repetition, this does not mean that originality is absent. Writers create value not by inventing additional facts but by presenting accessible information. To improve the impact of technical articles, aiming for clarity and thoughtful structure matters more than total originality.
Good tech docs are clear, consistent, and efficient, giving users what they need without repeating information. Readers should find technical articles both reliable and user-friendly.
As the industry strengthens, AI-driven content reuse and intelligent authoring tools make it easier to maintain consistency. Writers should focus on areas where they can offer genuine insights. The key takeaway? Repetition in technical writing isn’t always a flaw, but a necessary element of effective communication. Good technical writers avoid redundancy and offer new viewpoints. Going forward, technical articles will likely keep balancing originality and consistency as foundational goals.