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Essential Data writes every kind of guide, from restaurant operations manuals to automobile service manuals to quick-reference guides.

User Manuals/Owners Manuals

User manuals, or owners manuals, are written for products for average consumers, most commonly technological devices. They usually contain the make and model information, set-up instructions, and descriptions of all the product’s functions, and may overlap with instruction manuals. They are typically published in print and online for free.

Service Manuals

Service manuals, in contrast, are written for consumers experienced with the product they purchase. An auto repairer, for instance, will understand cars more than the average driver, but may still consult a vehicle service manual for specifics about a car model they haven’t worked extensively with.

Service manuals go into more detail and retain more technical, specialized information than a user manual. They are available online and in print as well, but because they are more like reference books than how-to pamphlets, they may not be free.

Medical Device Manuals

Medical device manuals are written for both medical practitioners and patients but require a medical technical writer to compose. Every manual represents a unique intersection between writing, field specialization, and design, and medical device manuals are no exception.

Medical device manuals are vital to the healthcare and pharmaceutical worlds. They ensure that device use is standardized across organizations and practitioners, and empower patients to make informed, safe decisions about the products they use. The products and, thus, the manuals, must also must be FDA-compliant and adhere to any other relevant regulations.

Operation and Maintenance Manuals

Operation and maintenance manuals anchor an organization, company, or business. They include standard operation procedures, policies, checks and balances, and regulations.

Although not a manual for a technical device, an operation and maintenance manual may still include technical information best handled by a technical writer, such as how to operate equipment safely and effectively, industry vocabulary, and legal and regulatory language.

An operation and maintenance manual may include building and infrastructure layout and specifications, health and security measures, an equipment registry, financial documentation, supply chain information, staff schedules and procedures, preventative and incident response plans, and so on.

Quick Reference Guides

User, instruction, troubleshooting, maintenance, and operation manuals come in different lengths and levels of detail, but none is more brief than a quick reference guide. They are useful for consumers, training, and more.

A quick reference guide is a few pages long at most and is composed mostly of pictures and diagrams. Because of their use of nonverbal communication, quick reference guides may be overlooked as technical manual writing projects. However, design, information flow, and effective word choice when text does appear, are all a part of technical writing. A quick reference guide would still benefit from being curated by a technical writer.

A manual is straightforward to read, but it isn’t straightforward to write. Technical writers are professional explainers—they will ensure that the technical concepts in your manual are easily understood by your audience. And they know how to polish it up before sending it out for distribution. Essentially, a tech writer is the key to doing it right.

If you’d like to learn more about our technical manual writing services and what they can do for you, check out some of our related content below: