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Re: Overuse of gerunds in headings

Subject: Re: Overuse of gerunds in headings
From: Janice Gelb <janice -dot- gelb -at- sun -dot- com>
To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Date: Wed, 05 Apr 2006 13:50:39 +1000

Paul W Goddard wrote:


The psychology of gerunds is that it indicates to the
> reader what they are to be doing. It conveys action.
> I generates expectation. Nominatives, such as introduction
> or overview, may be accurate, but they contain no energy; no
user interaction. Closely related to gerunds is "How to..."


Indeed - overviews and introductions shouldn't
set an expectation that they contain any user
interaction! They are intended to provide
helpful general information.

Our internal style is to allow heads like "Overview
of...," "Introduction to...," "About...," and the like
(but not solely the words "Overview" or "Introduction"
as they are useless in online searches). Our primary
heads are gerunds, and heads for tasks begin with
either "To" or "How to."

-- Janice
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References:
Overuse of gerunds in headings: From: William Turner
Re: Overuse of gerunds in headings: From: Paul W Goddard

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