Professional Ethics

Many organizations and employers have a corporate code of ethics. Prior to January 2025, if you were a technical writer, you could join a professional association such as the Society of Technical Communication (STC) that had a robust code of ethics for writers. At it’s peak, STC had a membership of approximately 25,000 people worldwide. In January 2025, the organization ceased operations. Many public and private organizations have well established codes of ethics published online. If you are a technical writer researching and writing a report within a specific professional field, you will also need to be aware to that field’s codes of ethics. For example, if you are writing a report for a group of physical therapists on the latest techniques for rehabilitating knee surgery patients, you should be aware of the code of ethics for physical therapists so that you work within those principles as you research and write your report.

Look for the codes of ethics in your own discipline and begin to read and understand what will be expected of you as a professional in your field.