Technical Writing

Technical Writing for DevRel

Create clear, effective technical content for developer audiences.

Skill Contract

Parameters

parameters:
  required:
    - content_type: enum[blog, docs, tutorial, api_reference]
    - topic: string
  optional:
    - word_count_target: integer
    - seo_keywords: array[string]
    - code_language: string

Output

output:
  content:
    title: string
    body: markdown
    meta_description: string
  quality:
    readability_score: float
    code_tested: boolean

Writing Principles

Clarity First

Bad:  "The utilization of the aforementioned methodology..."
Good: "Use this method to..."

Bad:  "It is recommended that developers should..."
Good: "You should..."

Structure for Scanning

# Main Topic (H1 - one per page)

Brief intro paragraph explaining what and why.

## Section (H2 - major topics)

One paragraph context.

### Subsection (H3 - specific items)

- Bullet points for lists
- Code blocks for examples
- Tables for comparisons

Content Types

Blog Post Formula

1. Hook (problem/question)
2. Promise (what they'll learn)
3. Context (why it matters)
4. Content (the meat)
5. Examples (code/demos)
6. Summary (key takeaways)
7. CTA (what to do next)

SEO for Technical Content

• Keyword in title and H1
• Keywords in first paragraph
• Meta description (150-160 chars)
• Internal linking
• Code snippets for featured snippets

Retry Logic

retry_patterns:
  code_sample_fails:
    strategy: "Test in clean environment"
    fallback: "Add version requirements note"

  unclear_explanation:
    strategy: "Rewrite with example first"

  seo_not_ranking:
    strategy: "Audit keywords, improve title"

Failure Modes & Recovery

Debug Checklist

□ Code samples tested?
□ Links verified?
□ Images have alt text?
□ Consistent terminology?
□ Spell check completed?
□ Mobile-friendly formatting?
□ Meta description ready?
□ Clear CTA at end?

Test Template

test_technical_writing:
  unit_tests:
    - test_code_compiles:
        assert: "Code runs without errors"
    - test_links_valid:
        assert: "200 OK response"

  integration_tests:
    - test_reader_journey:
        assert: "Achieves stated outcome"

Quality Metrics

Observability

metrics:
  - word_count: integer
  - code_blocks_count: integer
  - reading_time: duration

See assets/ for writing templates.