Clear Writing

1. Clear Writing Intro to TC - Week 5

2. Clear Writing • Spelling & Grammar • Vocabulary • Voice

3. Spelling & Grammar • Wryte gud

4. Vocabulary • The bigger word isn't always better • Always consider your audience • Keep it simple, except where that would be bad for your audience • NO JARGON

5. Voice • Active vs. Passive: • Active voice describes action, it tells what  happening • Passive voice describes history, it tells what did happen • Technical writers almost always use active voice • Passive voice is most common in scientific writing, or where someone is dodging blame

6. Examples • The rain was observed to fall. • It rained. • The server configuration was established by Bob. • Bob configured the server. • It might be perceived by certain parties that a failure to complete additional school assignments has occurred for this class session. • My teacher thinks I didn’t do my homework. • Paperwork belonging to the set of work assigned for this session was ingested by a quadruped of the canine species. • The dog ate my homework.

7. Five Rules for Clear Writing • Avoid the obvious • Don’t tell your audience what they already know • Avoid padding • Don’t add any words that don’t carry meaning – if it doesn’t have to be there, delete it • Avoid redundant prepositional phrases • “each and every time” or “in order to” etc. • Avoid verbosity • Write short, clear sentences that are appropriate to your audience • Avoid pomposity • If your reader has to reach for the dictionary, you’re doing it wrong

8. Clarity • Define new terms • Define acronyms – spell it out the first time and then use the acronym • Be specific – the reader should always know exactly what you mean • Be positive – it will work right the first time • Provide links for more information – in case it doesn’t work right the first time • Use appropriate language for your audience

9. Homework • Read Technical Writing Style at Wikiversity: http://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Technical_writing_style