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1、Guidelines to Successful Technical Writing1. Revising with efficient sentencesThe main purpose of a technical document is to inform or persuade the reader through use of efficient sentences, not to impress or entertain with fancy language displays. So, technical documents transmit worthwhile informa
2、tioneven highly specialized informationin the most straightforward way to their audience.Readers of technical documents are busy and impatient. They do not wish to put more into reading a document than they can get from it. They hate waste and expect efficiency. Every sentence in a document should b
3、e revised to carry its own weight, in conveying the writers meaning.Observe the same rule in adopting sentence style as you would in choosing the documents content: make it long enough to be understood, yet short enough to be tolerated. When writing a technical document, consult the guidelines below
4、, which can also serve as a checklist for your sentence style:q Revise sentences to be clear and avoid ambiguity.A clear sentence communicates its precise meaning on first reading. It signals relationships among its parts, and emphasizes the key thought. In technical writing, a sentence should have
5、only one meaning. Make sure the words, phrases, and punctuation are absolutely clear.Ambiguous I cannot recommend this candidate too highly.Revised This candidate has my highest recommendation. Ambiguous Many executives are skeptical about office automation as well as managers.Revised Many executive
6、s as well as managers are skeptical about office automation.Ambiguous Being well-known in the computer industry, our project would benefit a lot from the Tsinghua team.Revised Because the Tsinghua team is well-known in the computer industry, our project would benefit a lot from its help.整理为word格式整理为
7、word格式q Use active rather than passive voice most of the time.Usually, the active voice (Joe tested the software.) is better than the passive voice (The software is tested by Joe.), but in certain situations it can make sense to use the less natural passive style. However, many writers routinely use
8、 the passive style simply because they believe it is more “formal” and “acceptable”. It is not. Using the passive style is the most common reason for poorly structured sentences and it always leads to longer sentences than are necessary. Unless you have a very good reason for the change in emphasis,
9、 you should always write in the active style.The following examples show the improvement achieved by switching from passive to active:FaultyThe report was written by Peter, and was found to be excellent.Correct Peter wrote the report, and it was excellent.FaultyThe lid should be sealed with wax.Corr
10、ect Seal the lid with wax.BadThe values were measured automatically by the control system.GoodThe control system measured the values automatically.Weak & Impersonal An offer will be made by us next week.StrongerWe will make you an offer next week.q Avoid unnecessary words and repetition.Many sentenc
11、es contain unnecessary words that repeat an idea already expressed in another word. This wastes space and blunts the message. Often writers use several words for ideas that can be expressed in one. This leads to unnecessarily complex sentences and redundancy.RedundantThe printer is located adjacent
12、to the computer. Revised The printer is adjacent to the computer.RedundantThe user can visibly see the image moving.RevisedThe user can see the image moving.Redundant The product is not of a satisfactory nature.Revised The product is unsatisfactory.整理为word格式q Make sentences fluent.Fluent sentences a
13、re polished, graceful, and easy to read. Varied length and word order make them free of choppiness and monotony. See the following suggestions:Needless “that” This is a problem that bothers me.Fluent This problem bothers me.Needless qualifier It seems that they have a valid argument.Revised They hav
14、e a valid argument. / They seem to have a valid argument.Choppy Jogging can be healthful if you have the right equipment. Most important are well-fitting shoes. They are important because without them you take the chance of injuring your legs. Your knees are especially prone to injury.Revised Joggin
15、g can be healthful if you have the right equipment. Well-fitting shoes are most important because they prevent injuries to your legs, especially your knees.Technical writing exercises 1. The following sentences are unclear or lack fluency because of ambiguous phrasing, incorrect word order, or too much information. Revise them so that their meanings are clear.a) A man eating shark was spotted in the South Sea.b) Wearing special equipment, the radioactive material failed to injure the operator.c) That is a whole new ap
