How to End a Sentence to Communicate the Right Subtext
How you end a sentence makes all the difference in the world in your commercial and technical copy. Or rather, it makes all the difference in the world the way you end a sentence. (See the difference already? In the first sentence the emphasis is on “copy”; in the second it’s on the “end of…
Read MoreTechnical Communication – A Pandemic Influenza Scale that Does Not Work
Meaningful classification of information is one of the prime tasks in technical communication. By that standard, the WHO (World Health Organization) classification of the Swine Flu into “phases” fails the test since it does not give us an indication of the severity of the “pandemic” or suggest what should we do about it. But first…
Read MoreInkscape – How to Use the Layers
Inkscape is a free vector drawing program which is ideal for many of the illustrations drawn by technical writers. The fact that it’s available for free makes it a great resource for those freelance technical writers with limited budgets to spare for more expensive vector programs like the Adobe Illustrator. Inkscape has a Layers menu…
Read MoreHow to Balance Facts and Emotions in Technical Communication
Technical documentation readers are usually a “voluntarily captive audience.” They choose to read a user manual by their own free choice. When we get to a piece of technical documentation we are usually ready and willing to believe in the author and follow his or her procedural steps. All we are looking for are the…
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