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Re: Use of jargon and Question on White paper -Reply
Subject:Re: Use of jargon and Question on White paper -Reply From:Janice Gelb <janiceg -at- MARVIN -dot- ENG -dot- SUN -dot- COM> Date:Tue, 14 Jul 1998 15:47:58 -0700
Bill Sullivan wrote:
>
> >>is it acceptable for a white paper to have a glossary?
>
> It is not unacceptable, but I would wonder why you would find it
> necessary.
>
> Typically, a white paper is a purpose paper. You write one because you
> want something from the people you write it for. Where most of us are
> employed, white papers are often marketing tools.
>
> So my question for you is: If you want something from your readers,
> why bore them with text that is so full of jargon or argot or cant or
> dubious lingo that you feel you must accompany your paper with an
> explanatory reference document? If someone was writing you a white
> paper and wanted you to spend your money on their product or service,
> would you be moved to buy if every second or third sentence was
> totally unintelligible without consulting a special glossary?
>
[snip]
>
> I think it is possible to write about a technical topic so that educated
> people can understand it even if they are not in or of the discipline. I
> would suggest you make that your goal. Think of it as an upscale
> variation on the KISS theme.
>
What if your primary audience for the white paper is very technical but
other people might pick it up at a trade show? You wouldn't want to
have to "dumb it down" by not using the vocabulary of your primary
audience, or by over-explaining it, but you also might want other
people to understand it as well.
This isn't meant to defend jargon but it is certainly possible to have
many standard technical terms in a white paper that aren't necessarily
intelligible to all readers.
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Janice Gelb | The only connection Sun has with this
janice -dot- gelb -at- eng -dot- sun -dot- com | message is the return address. http://www.geocities.com/Area51/8018/index.html
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