TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:RE: His/Her v. Their From:Fiona Hanington <fiona -dot- hanington -at- ericsson -dot- com> To:"becca -at- di -dot- org" <becca -at- di -dot- org>, "techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com" <techwr-l -at- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Fri, 26 Oct 2012 12:34:14 -0400
I agree with many who have suggested rendering everything plural and using "their" as much as possible. However, if there are instances where singular is unavoidable, I would use "his or her" rather than "his/her" (not a fan of the slash).
Another idea (although this depends on how lengthy your instructions are, among other things) is to set the instructions up in a table. That way you could use the 2nd person and the imperative form:
-----------------------------------------------------
Step | Who | What
-----------------------------------------------------
1. | SME | Sign the form and return it to ...
2. | Writer | Record the .... Etc.
3. | SME | Verify that...
Etc.
Fiona
-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+fiona -dot- hanington=ericsson -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com [mailto:techwr-l-bounces+fiona -dot- hanington=ericsson -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On Behalf Of Fred Ridder
Sent: October-26-12 9:06 AM
To: becca -at- di -dot- org; techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: RE: His/Her v. Their
Becca wrote:
> In this situation, we have a number of diferent actors. Each step may
> refer to a different actor. The author of the document wrote things
> like
>
> "The SME should print his/her name and sign it on the Signature line"
>
> The next step then says what the next actor should be doing with the form.
"The form must have the SME's name printed on it and the SME must sign it on the Signature line."
My reasoning here is that the SME is presumably not the only person capable of printing the SME's name on the form. Only the signature part of the procedure needs to be performed specifically by the SME. Passive voice is perfectly appropriate and very useful when a specific actor is not required in a procedure.
-Fred Ridder
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Writer Tip: You have more time to author content with Doc-To-Help, because your project can be up and running in 3 steps.
See the “Getting Started with Doc-To-Help” blog post. http://bit.ly/doc-to-help-3-steps ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as fiona -dot- hanington -at- ericsson -dot- com -dot-
To unsubscribe send a blank email to
techwr-l-leave -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Looking for articles on Technical Communications? Head over to our online magazine at http://techwhirl.com
Looking for the archived Techwr-l email discussions? Search our public email archives @ http://techwr-l.com/archives
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Writer Tip: You have more time to author content with Doc-To-Help, because your project can be up and running in 3 steps.
See the “Getting Started with Doc-To-Help” blog post. http://bit.ly/doc-to-help-3-steps
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- web -dot- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-
To unsubscribe send a blank email to
techwr-l-leave -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
