How to Write a Great Topic Sentence for a Paragraph

© Ugur Akinci A TOPIC SENTENCE is the first lead sentence in a paragraph consisting of multiple sentences. The topic sentence summarize the main idea of the paragraph. It sets the expectation about what is to follow in the rest of the paragraph. You can even say it’s a “commercial” so to speak that “sells”…

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2 Methods to Avoid Gender Ambiguity

One of the hardest things in writing English is to avoid using the third person singular pronouns, unless you are writing for an exclusively male or female group. Every time I see a document with a sentence like “the operator must configure his or her machine according to…” I cringe. Some writers switch back and…

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Job Prospects in Technical Writing vs. Copy Writing

An accountant/bookkeeper reader asked whether copy writing is a better alternative in terms of finding jobs than technical writing, especially in rural areas. The following was my answer to him: “I’d say the chances of finding a tech writing vs. copy writing job in rural areas is just about the same. The business that has…

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Technical versus Content Writing

Technical versus content writing — are they the same or different? The answer is YES and NO. It is similar to content or article writing in the sense that you need to create prose that is easily understood, logically consistent, and conveys useful information. Where it separates from regular non-fiction writing is in its procedural…

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Plain Writing Online Course

(Copyright-free photo by Nick Morrison at Unsplash dot com) © Ugur Akinci Plain Writing is not only a good idea but it’s now the law of the land in the United States since October 13, 2010. See: http://abcnews.go.com/WN/obama-signs-law-understand/story?id=11902841 http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-946 Very soon all U.S. Government departments and agencies will have to produce all their documents in…

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terminology management

How not to Sacrifice Clarity to Simplicity in Technical Writing

Introduction Simplicity in technical writing is a mantra frequently repeated by trainers and writing instructors. You’ve heard it many times and in general, it’s true: “Write simply. Eliminate all unnecessary words and facts from your technical writing.” Plain language is of course what we all like. But there are always exceptions in life, including this…

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4 Levels of Editing in Technical Writing

Writing is re-writing; that is, editing. Technical editing is a crucial part of all technical writing projects. But we have to remember there are multiple levels of technical editing which makes the task all the more challenging. LEVEL 1 EDITING Spec Editing. Does the document satisfy all the macro requirements specified in the Documentation Plan?…

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Technical Writing — End Your Sentences with What Matters the Most

© 2010 Ugur Akinci Readers remember what they read the last much better than what they read first. Thus try to end your sentences with things that really matter. Don’t end your sentences with matters of secondary importance. For example, here is a sentence from U.S. OSHA Technical Manual: “Workplace investigations of ventilation systems may…

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