"Next" or "the following" -- What is your preference?

[Claire Conant]

To be perfectly honest, reading that would drive me bonkers. It doesn't
even feel like a correct sentence, but I'm sure some expert grammarian
on the list will correct me, if I'm wrong.

 

And if I edited a writer who wrote that for me, I would edit it out. I'd
change it to:

 

Choose from the following list:

 

Or

 

Follow these steps to complete the form.

 

I think the person suggesting the change to you is correct. It is still
active voice, but not as clunky. The commas and position of next in your
sentence makes the reader trip up. 

 

Hope that helps.

 

Claire

 

 

 

________________________________

From: Pro TechWriter [mailto:pro.techwriter at gmail.com] 
Sent: Monday, December 11, 2006 7:52 AM
To: Claire Conant
Cc: TECHWR-L
Subject: Re: "Next" or "the following" -- What is your preference?

 

It's more like:

 

"Choose one from the list, next:"

 

or

 

"Use the steps, next, to complete the form:"

 

Hope this helps :-)