Posts Tagged ‘English’
Eliminate Nominalization from your Technical Writing
© Ugur Akinci Eliminate nominalization (i.e., turning verbs and adjectives into nouns) not only from your technical documents but from all your writing. Nominalization is the name grammarians have given to the process by which direct verbs are turned into convoluted phrases by adding suffixes like –tion, –ment, etc. There are other ways (fertile…
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Localization — Don’t Use Phrasal Verbs in Your Technical Documents
Introduction to Localization Localization of technical documents requires the translation of the technical text into local languages. Some English components do not have corresponding equivalents in other languages and thus are almost impossible to translate correctly. Globalization versus Localization Localization is the process of adapting a product to suit different regional or international markets. It…
Read MoreTechnical 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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How to Subordinate Your Supporting Idea to the Main Idea
Introduction A supporting idea is a detail that supports the main idea. Generally, a supporting idea is an example of the main idea or an explanation of the main idea. In order to subordinate your supporting idea to the main point, you need to present it in a way that makes it clear that it…
Read MoreTechnical Writing – Combine Short Sentences to Avoid Choppy Delivery
© 2010 Ugur Akinci Most of the time you’ll hear that short is good in technical writing and long is bad. That’s true in general. But like everything else, this rule has an exception as well. If you write in too many short sentences cascading one after the other, the readers will have a hard…
Read MoreWrite Your Technical Documents with a Consistent Style Guideline
© 2010 Ugur Akinci A consistent technical document is one that instills confidence and trust in end-users. It all starts with a template. It doesn’t matter whether you are creating a book, help file, or a web site. A template is a must. Once you’ve got your template designed and under control, you need to…
Read MoreWrite Your Technical Documents with Consistent Tense
© 2010 Ugur Akinci Don’t go time-traveling from one clause to another. If you have multiple clauses in a sentence, try to make sure their verbs are in the same tense. EXAMPLE: “The circuit started to overheat [PAST] when the operator shuts down the relay [SIMPLE PRESENT].” BETTER 1: The circuit started to overheat [PAST]…
Read MoreWrite Your Technical Documents in Consistent Case
© 2010 Ugur Akinci The verbs you use in your technical writing must agrees with the case of your subject(s). For example: The school [Main SUBJECT] where he graduated [auxiliary VERB] from is [Main VERB] the oldest in the country. (School [singular] … is [third person singular]) VIOLATION of the rule: The school where he…
Read MoreWrite Your Technical Documents with Consistent Voice and Mood
Technical writing is consistent writing, whether you’re writing software or marketing specs. Your sentences need to be consistent in Voice Mood Case Tense Style If you end your sentences with the same mood, voice and tense that you start them with, the battle is already won. [Which rule did this sentence violate already?] Technique 1)…
Read MoreUse Parallel Construction in Technical Writing, whenever possible
© 2010 Ugur Akinci Try to write in sentences that have similar syntaxes and components. Construct your sentences and paragraphs with “parallel,” i.e. similar, components. That increases audience comprehension and retention. It makes your technical documents more user-friendly. For example, if you start the first sentence in a procedural description with an action verb, start…
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