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Nice approach! I think many of us have that info mapping philosophy for writing instructions, each step is an action and result so folks know they did the right thing.
>
> I prefer to just skip the "The XXX window displays/appears/opens/whatever." After the instruction to click OK or whatever, I go right to the next step, "Set ABC in the XXX window." The "displays" statement seems superfluous, especially if the next step in the instructions includes a labeled screen cap.
>
> Gene Kim-Eng
>
>
> ------- Original Message -------
> On 2/26/2010 10:25 PM Suzanne Chiles wrote:
> I have fallen into the bad habit, when writing task topics, of following the
> instructions with sentences like "The Edit Settings window displays." I know
> this is bad usage, but all other versions of this type of information seem
> awkward and overly-thought-out. I think it goes back to a manager I had many
> years ago who wouldn't let us say "appears" because she thought it made it
> sound like the results of a magic spell.
>
> Anyway, I am open to suggestions.
>
> tia,
> Suzanne
>
> --
> Suzanne Chiles
> suzchiles -at- gmail -dot- com
> I tweet as Homescribe on Twitter
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Explore CAREER options and paths related to Technical Writing,
learn to create SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS documents, and
get tips on FUNCTIONAL SPECIFICATION best practices. Free at: http://www.ModernAnalyst.com
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