[Author Prev][Author Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next]
[Author Index (this month)][Thread Index (this month)][Top of Archive]

Re: Active verbs (was: Basic Voice)

Subject: Re: Active verbs (was: Basic Voice)
From: Peter Gold <peter -at- highsoft -dot- com>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Thu, 13 Feb 2003 10:30:14 -0600


A problem I have with "you can" is that writers often use it as a general description, instead of an informative one. For example, "You can use this <whatever> to do <something general>." "You can import information from another file by choosing MenuName > MenuSubItem," is OK for me.

"You may" vary your mileage by applying different criteria.<G>

Regards,

Peter Gold
_________________________________________________________________________
KnowHow ProServices division of HighSoft, Inc.
www.knowhowpro.com
Adobe Certified Expert: FrameMaker 7, FrameMaker+SGML Authoring,
Acrobat 5, InDesign 2
WebWorks Professional Certified trainer
Voice: 660-691-0701 Toll-free outside S. F. Bay Area: 800-795-6066
FAX: 650-691-0995

On Thursday, February 13, 2003, at 09:13 AM, Lisa Kemp wrote:

Does this argument include the "you can" construction? This construction
doesn't indicate permission (as "you may" would). We often use this
construction to avoid the wordy and less direct "allows you to"
construction.

-----Original Message-----
From: Peter Gold [mailto:peter -at- highsoft -dot- com]
Sent: Thursday, February 13, 2003 10:00 AM
To: TECHWR-L
Cc: TECHWR-L
Subject: Re: Active verbs (was: Basic Voice)

So long ago that I've completely forgotten its name, I read a book on
technical writing, that succinctly stated Chris' point here, namely that
users do things and technical publications shouldn't suggest that users
have to obtain permission from a computing system or component - what
Chris refers to as "CSF".

I think one issue in this discussion is the difference between the
familiar voice of conversation or discussion, vs. a writer's voice in
written documentation. It's common in US conversation, to use phrases that
include "lets," "enables," etc. I'm not sure other languages have this
convention. Written communication, designed for wider audiences than
participants in a conversation, has different requirements. This
difference is one aspect of evaluating one's audience, especially for
written material that will be translated to other languages.


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Buy or upgrade to RoboHelp X3 today and receive the WebHelp
Merge Module for FREE ($299 value). RoboHelp X3's all-new
features include conditional text, completely re-engineered
printed documentation output, Context-sensitive Help Toolkit,
single-source layouts, and more!
Order online today at http://www.ehelp.com/techwr-l


---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as:
archive -at- raycomm -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot- Visit
http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.


References:
RE: Active verbs (was: Basic Voice): From: Lisa Kemp

Previous by Author: Re: Active verbs (was: Basic Voice)
Next by Author: Re: Saving Websites to CD
Previous by Thread: RE: Active verbs (was: Basic Voice)
Next by Thread: Re: Active verbs (was: Basic Voice)

[Top of Archive] | [Author Index (this month)] | [Thread Index (this month)]

What this post helpful? Share it with friends and colleagues:

Sponsored Ads