Grammar Question

[Ned Bedinger]

Eddie Hollon wrote:
>> Lauren wrote: 
>> This sentence is very simple and is fine the way it
> is. A very complex sentence may need additional
> clarification.
> 
> 
> Quick, what's the golden rule of technical
> communication..."Know your audience?"
> 

I'll grant you that, but I've got reservations about that really being 
THE golden rule. I think THE golden rule would be something like "Dig." 
  We're always digging for the information we need, no one ever presents 
in a concise way to us, probably because they know we'll dig it up 
anyway.  But audience analysis is just one aspect of it.

So, to answer this grammar question, you would start digging up 
information about the audience and any special requirements related to 
whatever process the document will go thru once it leaves your 
wordworks.  Good on ya!  That is valuable information, and could 
influence the choice you'll make in solving this grammar question.

But at this stage, where the OP has posed the question, we don't even 
know the context of the sentence or its intended meaning, let alone 
whether it is destined for translation.

And anyway, this was an odd question to pose to tech writers, as we 
generally have our tech writing language skills in the foreground, where 
it is just too cumbersome to keep THE rules of grammar foregrounded too. 
We have language reference books on the desk, but we mostly rely on a 
grasp of grammar that has become instinctive, reflexive. Talking about 
grammar is like talking about our autonomic nervous system--we can, but 
don't often choose to, relatively speaking.

In fact, except when learning a language or exercising it in school, I 
wouldn't ever expect someone to ask that question.  So the golden rule 
dictates that I dig for that missing context and try to understand the 
whole picture. Framing it for the audience or translators would be later 
in my process.

I don't think I missed anything in my approach. I dug up the information 
that the OP is doing edits, and THAT definitely explains the 
question--it arose in an editor's concern about it. LOL, I dug it up 
with one question to the OP.

What did you dig up about the audience?

Ned Bedinger
doc at edwordsmith.com