Re: Gerunds in titles and headings

["Wollt, Richard C" <Richard -dot- Wollt -at- UNISYS -dot- COM>]

I have been told that gerunds can be difficult to translate into several
languages as they do not have a similar construction.  That said, the
project I'm now working with uses gerunds freely.

Richard Wollt
Unisys
richard -dot- wollt -at- unisys -dot- com

-----Original Message-----
From: cdavidso -at- IONLINE -dot- NET [mailto:cdavidso -at- IONLINE -dot- NET]
Sent: Tuesday, January 12, 1999 10:50 AM
To: TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU
Subject: Gerunds in titles and headings


I'm one week into a new job as the sole technical writer in a medium-
sized company that has just begun to document their policies and
procedures in print and in online Help. The style guide, developed by a
consultant before I arrived, calls for the avoidance of gerunds in
titles in favour of imperatives (e.g., "Add a note" instead of "Adding a
note"). I understand that they want to use a strong, directive tone in
their manuals, but I'm concerned that consistent use of the imperative
may cause readers to "Add a note" (for example) where it's not
appropriate.

At my previous company we routinely used gerunds in headings, and I'm
not sure if I'm balking simply because this is new and different. I'm
hoping that since they're not too far along in the process that there
may be some room for negotiation. Is there a good reason to use or avoid
the gerund? Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Carolyn Davidson
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