Re: Have ye the will to use it, then?

[Mark Dando <danmcc -at- OZEMAIL -dot- COM -dot- AU>]

Sharon Burton-Hardin wrote:

>No. No future tense. Rarely. You hardly ever need it. Present imperative
>works fine for nearly everything. And they user is You. Second person. So we
>have present tense, second person. Please. There is a ton more to tech
>writing than these 2 things but these 2 are elemental. The we come to
>passive voice but that is another rant.
>
>I struggle to teach students this and I am generating a career and a
>business based on these 2 simple premises. Amazing but true.


To insist on present tense, second person for all forms of technical writing
is unnecessarily limiting.

I write, and teach SMEs to write, process documents. At the higher level
especially (policies and procedures, as against work instructions), the
second person is generally not suitable because of the multiple audiences
and actors involved in the process. We generally use the third person for
precision, and often the future tense because it better conveys a sense of
obligation than the present ("The Migration Manager will send the file.").
The future tense is also needed for conditional activities.

Can posters to this list please keep in mind the breadth of activity covered
by the terms "technical writing" and "technical communication". I've never
written a software manual, and usually describe my discipline as business
communication rather than technical communication, but much of it is very
technical. And much of what appears on this list is very relevant.

Thank you.
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Dando McCredie Pty Ltd
danmcc -at- ozemail -dot- com -dot- au
Phone 61 2 4784 3460
Mobile 61 417 280 581
Fax 61 2 4784 3461
7 Easter Street
Leura NSW 2780
Australia
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