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: One step per action From:Bill Burns <WBURNS -at- VAX -dot- MICRON -dot- COM> Date:Wed, 14 Jun 1995 08:32:16 MDT
Robert writes:
>>6. REMOVE THE HEAD by removing the eighteen socket-head cap screws...
7. REMOVE THE OLD GASKET by scraping it from the head and block...
You'd put the effect before the cause? I understand your point (indicating
the result of the action), but I'd write the sentences differently.
6. To remove the head, unscrew the .....
7. To remove the old gasket, scrape it from ....
or I'd use a compound imperative statement for the first
6. Remove the 18 socket-head cap screws, and take off the head.
and a simple imperative statement for the second
7. Scrape the old gasket off of the head and block.
Sometimes focusing on the result works, but expecting the result to
suffice without offering a method sometimes requires too much from the reader.
(It's a writer-based rather than a reader-based approach to a subject.) In
any case, I prefer to keep the verb with the action being performed and either
indicate results as effects following a cause or include them as task-oriented
information before the cause.
Bill Burns *
Assm. Technical Writer/Editor * LIBERTY, n. One of imagination's most
Micron Technology, Inc. * precious possessions.
Boise, ID *
WBURNS -at- VAX -dot- MICRON -dot- COM * Ambrose Bierce
