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>Does anyone know of any rules governing the level of writing for a
technical audience?
>What would you do in this situation?
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My experience has been that if you aim for the eighth-grade level, you'll
probably get college-level, at least in the first draft. And even academics
welcome clean, clear writing, regardless of the vocabulary level. All too
often, so-called "professional" writing is heavily larded with passive voice
and extra words because the authors "thought it sounded more serious" that
way.
People learn what they see, and they tend to write in the style of what they
read. Maybe you can strike a blow for technically literate simplicity.
