Monday, April 29, 2013
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Monday, April 1, 2013
Technical Writing
Compare the following two sentences
that provide instructions to a set of employees (this Example
is given in [Roy 2000]):
1.
It is of considerable importance to ensure that under
no circumstances should
anyone
fail to deactivate the overhead luminescent function at its local
activation
point
on their departure to their place of residence, most notably immediately
preceding
the two day period at the termination of the standard working week.
2.
Always turn the lights out when you go home, especially on a Friday.
The
meaning of both sentences is, of course, equivalent. Which one was easier to
read and understand?
The objective of this document is to show people how to write as in the
second sentence
rather than the first. If you actually prefer the first, then there is little
point in you reading
the rest of this document. But please do not expect to win too many friends (or
marks) from
any writing that you produce.
Unfortunately,
the great shame for anybody having to read lots of reports in their everyday life
is that the schools’ system continues to produce students who feel they ought
to write more
like in the first sentence than the second. Hence, the unnecessarily complex
and formal style
is still common. This document shows you that there is a better way to
write, using simple,
plain English.
One
of the good things about technical writing is that you really can learn to
improve. You should
not believe people who say that being a good writer is a natural ability that
you either have
or do not have. We are talking here about presenting technical or business
reports and not
about writing novels. I speak from some experience in this respect, because in
the last ten years
I have learned these ideas and applied them to become a better writer. When I
was writing
my first book in 1989 an outstanding technical editor highlighted the many
problems with
my writing. I was guilty of many of the examples of bad practice that I will
highlight throughout
this document. You too can improve your writing significantly if you are aware
of what
these bad practices are and how to avoid them. TalkShop, which is considered the best Technical Writing school in the Philippines, will ensure that you are
equipped with all the skills necessary to achieve your goals in the corporate
world.
Visit TalkShop!
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