TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:RE: introducing lists ... From:Kirsty Taylor <kirsty -dot- taylor -at- au -dot- abb -dot- com> To:"techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Sun, 9 Aug 2015 23:56:29 +0000
I prefer #2 - clear introduction of the list using the colon, and no noun-less adverb at the end (following). I agree "the following" is superfluous.
>From a translation perspective, with #3 you're missing the noun (items/widgets/thingamajigs), which the linguist may need to guess to give the correctly cased and gendered adverbial ending to the translation of "following".
Cheers,
Kirsty
-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+kirsty -dot- taylor=ventyx -dot- abb -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com [mailto:techwr-l-bounces+kirsty -dot- taylor=ventyx -dot- abb -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On Behalf Of Sean Brierley
Sent: Saturday, 8 August 2015 3:30 AM
To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: introducing lists ...
Question about using lists. Which would you prefer and why? Does a requirement for translation make a difference? Assume each of the following fragments is followed by a list that correctly uses parallel structure.
1) This package includes
2) This package includes:
3) This package includes the following:
I go with 2. I have made a stylistic decision that all introductions end with a colon, be they a fragment or complete sentence. I know that's contrary to some grammar positions. I also see "the following" as superfluous, though I am not opposed to adding it if there's good reason; is there?
Cheers,
Sean
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Learn more about Adobe Technical Communication Suite (2015 Release) | http://bit.ly/1FR7zNW
Looking for articles on Technical Communications? Head over to our online magazine at http://techwhirl.com
Looking for the archived Techwr-l email discussions? Search our public email archives @ http://techwr-l.com/archives
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Learn more about Adobe Technical Communication Suite (2015 Release) | http://bit.ly/1FR7zNW
