The Language of Technical Writing and Practical Problems

Regarding Style in Technical Communication

The following techniques on using the right language for producing effective technical
reports:

1. Practice Conciseness
-Conciseness which means expressing oneself in the fewest number of words at the
same time retaining completeness in meaning is possible through the following
methods:
 Shortening words/phrases     
Wordy Phrases Shortened Forms

 
Afford and opportunity
Permit
As soon as possible
By 8:00 am
At the present time
Now
By means of
By
Despite the fact that
Although
Due to the fact that
Because
In the final analysis
Finally
In the proximity
Near
In the near future
Soon 

 Substituting long and complex words with short simple

Long/Complex Words Short/Simple Words

Advantageous  
Alleviate Helpful
Commence Lessen
Discontinue Begin
Fabricate Stop
Modification Make
Numerous Change
Utilization Many
  Use
 
 Avoiding nominalizations or the use of “camouflaged or shun words”
(words ending in –sion or –tion), replace them with active words
Nominalizations Active words

Come to the conclusion Conclude/decide

With the exemption of Except for
 Make revisions Revise
Implementation of Implement
Investigation of the Investigate
Take consideration Consider
Assessment of Assess

 Omitting clichés, hackneyed, trite, old-fashioned, worn-out,

expressions
Cliché Fresh/Natural Language

According to our records Our record show

At all times Always
As plain as day Clear
At an early date (specify the date)
Needless to say Obviously
Thanking you in advance I shall appreciate
This is to inform you (say immediately what you wish to tell the
We take this opportunity reader)
Hoping to receive (state your intention immediately)
With your kind permission I hope to receive
  May I

 Avoiding redundancies or words that say the same meaning

Don’t say Say

During the year of 2012 In 2012

Like for example Like or for example
New invention New
Collaborated together Worked together
Plan in advance Plan
The reason why Why
Regular monthly status report Monthly
This the way how to This is the way or this is how
I mean to say I mean or I say
Color green green
 
 Avoiding expletives or sentences with no true subjects like sentences
beginning with There is, There are, Here is, It is, It has been, and many
more
Don’t say Say

There are many customers at the lobby. Many customers are at…
There is a sharp tool on that table. A sharp tool is on that…
There will be a meeting tomorrow. A meeting will be…
It is requested that you stay. You are requested to…
Here is the answer of Mr. Lee The answer of Mr. Lee is…
 
 Cancel or drop extra wordsDo not say:
1. Allowing the agent’s request means the showing of all confidential
documents.
2. I think that the checking of all records is important.
3. It is necessary for the customers that they have to surrender the receipts to
the officer in charge of the day in order to get a refund.
Say:
1. Allowing the agent’s request means showing confidential documents.
2. I think checking of all records is important.
3. The customers have to surrender the receipts to the officer to get a refund.

2. Express your ideas in active voice rather than in passive voice.

Sentences in active voice stress the doer of the action; in passive voice, the receiver of
the action. At times, some prefer to use passive voice to prevent the frequent use of “I”
because the repeated use of this personal pronoun somehow indicates self-
centeredness, monotony, or repetitiveness. Between these two voices of verbs, many
technical writers find the use of active voice better this clearly recognizes the identity of
the person answerable for the act (Pearsall, 2010). According to Vanhauss (2005),
technical writing should be an “action-oriented style,” rather than be one with a great
deal of “hidden words.”
In addition, active voice should be used when it's important to emphasize the actor,
while passive should be used when it's more important to emphasize the action. Use
active when a particular action is required of someone or when the user/writer is
expected to complete a particular action; use passive when it's less important who or
what completed the action and more important that the action was completed.
Active voice example:
Here’s a short, active voice sentence:
The cat sat on the mat.
actor: The cat
verb: sat
target: the mat
Passive voice example:
By contrast, here's that same sentence in passive voice:
The mat was sat on by the cat.
target: The mat
passive verb: was sat
actor: the cat
 
3.  Use non-sexist instead of sexist language by expressing yourself in the following ways:
a. Use plural pronouns instead of single pronoun
 Do not say:
1. The technician has to show his I.D. card to the guard.
2. Each reporter should submit his monthly report on
time.
Say:
1. The technicians have to show their I.D. cards to the
guards.
2. Reporters should submit their work on time.
b. Using 2nd person point of view instead of 3rd person point of view.
Do not say:
1. She presented her proposal report on time.
2. The customer showed his receipt to the guard.
Say:
1. Present your proposal report on time.
2. Show your receipt to the guard.
c. Using expressions like He or She – him or her. Avoid using a slash mark – He/She –
him/her. Others however find He or she – him or her wordy, hence they prefer using the
plural form – their, or the 2nd person point of view – you  
Do not say:
1. The customer explained her point to the
manager.
2. The X-ray technician affixed his signature to
the document.
Say:
1. The customer explained his or her point to the
manager.
2. The X-ray technician affixed his or her signature to
the document.

4.  Avoid using words that explicitly favour one gender

Do not say: Say:
Businessman Business person
Chairman Chairperson
Craftsman Artist, crafts person
Manpower Personnel
Mankind Humanity
Fireman Firefighter
Camera man Camera operator
Career girl Artist, Designer

5.  Avoid using jargons, gobbledygook, horse-and-buggy, verbal dead words

These expressions are long, pretentious, and high-sounding; words that have no
significant or necessary place in the sentence. Appearing complex, they work, to hide
the meaning of the term or make the writer sound learned or professional. Eliminate
these vogue expressions by substituting them with simple and easier terms. One good
rule of thumb in technical writing is: write to express, not to impress. This means that
you have to write the way you speak or use a conversational or casual language you
often use in you day-to-day interactions with people. (Guffey, 2005)
Jargons are technical terms commonly used by people belonging to the same field of
profession. Exclusively used by a specific set of persons like the lawyers, the physicians,
the engineers, or the businessmen, these terms do not sound familiar or
understandable to ordinary persons in society. Seemingly, the use of these terms works
to exclude laypersons from knowing what are happening in a company of experts or
specialists or of people belonging to one field of profession.
Examples:
Legal profession                      - habeas corpus, subpoena, status quo, preliminary
injunction
Business world                        - rebate, assets and liabilities, amortization, mortgage,
balance sheet
Medical world                               - stethoscope, hypertension, differential diagnosis,
formaldehyde
Computer world                           - user friendly, on-line adapter, debug, quick-assess
storage, scramble time
Teaching profession                     - lesson plan, intrinsic motivation, systematic
functional grammar, grade sheet
6.  Give careful attention to words and phrases that are commonly misused and misspell
Example:
 Accept – to take something seriously
 Except – to exclude a rule or statement from a list
Let him accept those tools  except  the one with a red mark.
 Adapt – to adjust or to be in harmony with somebody.
 Adopt – to make a person own a thing belonging to another
person.
If you are familiar with their culture, you can easily  adapt yourself to
their cultural practices and will eventually make you adopt  every aspect
of their lifestyle in your long exposure to this cultural group.
 Already – by this time or before a particular moment
 All ready – state of being fit or balanced for an immediate
action or use
The company secretary has already  sent a notice of meeting to all
members who seem to be  all ready  in discussing salient points in the
general assembly.
 Between – a preposition for only two persons, things, or places
 Among – a preposition for three or more persons, places, or thing
Among all the imported products, the Japan-made item
placed  between two big boxes appear qualitative.
 Affect – a verb used to men having an influence on another
person or thing
 Effect – a result coming from a cause
 The manager’s resignation will not  affect the company’s business
reputation, but may have an  effect on the economic standing of his
family.
 Differ from – not the same in observation
 Differ with – not the same in opinion
As to size, the two  differ from  each other; as to their usefulness, the
prospective buyers of the machine differ from with one another.