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Subject:Re: grammar survey From:"Peter Ring, PRC" <prc -at- ISA -dot- DKNET -dot- DK> Date:Mon, 18 May 1998 14:15:39 +1
Christa Hutchings asked us:
> Vote for your favorite:
>
> 1) When finished, press END.
> 2) When done, press END.
> 3) Press END when finished.
> 4) Press END when done.
No. 3) and 4) are out: A L W A Y S "condition before action"!
Example: "Press the red FIRE button if you want to start a nuclear
war". If you are stressed, in a hurry, and within a long procedure,
you have pressed it before you read the condition.
I prefer No. 2 because it is shorter with a max. word length of 5
characters and an average of 4 characters. But in some contexts,
"done" may be misunderstod.
Greetings from Denmark
Peter Ring
PRC (Peter Ring Consultants)
- specialists in user friendly manuals and audits on manuals.
prc -at- isa -dot- dknet -dot- dk
- the "User Friendly Manuals" website with links, bibliography, list
of prof. associations, and tips for technical writers: http://isa.dknet.dk/~prc/
- text cleaning software, e.g. for reading difficult e-mails: http://isa.dknet.dk/~prc/software/index.html
