Transcript Technical language

Technical language
Style, Grammar and
Punctuation
Grammar: What Is It and
Why Is It a Big Deal?
Grammar: What Is It and Why Is It a
Big Deal?
• Grammar is nothing more than a large set of
rules- commonly accepted standards for
assembling words so that, together, they make
sense and convey meaning.
• What is important in technical writing,
however, is not the ability to recite obscure
grammatical rules; rather, it is being able to
write correctly and effectively.
Style: What does style have to do
with technical writing?
Style: What does style have to do with
technical writing?
• Style is a general concept that refers to the way we say
something.
• Style encompasses many things, including word choice,
order, and selection; and it actually includes any other
distinctive features of the way we express ourselves in
language.
• Besides being grammatically correct, technical writing
must be geared to communicating precise information in a
straightforward and unambiguous way. It is easy to be
ambiguous and imprecise while still being grammatically
correct.
• For technical writing to be effective, however, it must use a
style of expression characterized by economy and
precision.
In fact, grammar and style are important in technical
writing for two reasons:
Incorrect or improper grammar can change the
meaning of what you are trying to say or, at least,
make your meaning hard to interpret. That is
fundamentally opposed to the goal of technical
writing, which is precision in meaning.
Incorrect grammar says something about you
and the quality of your thinking. Poor grammar
in a technical report can communicate to the
reader that you are not terribly bright or that
you lack the required education or professional
attention to detail. Right or wrong, true or false,
fair or unfair, poor grammar can seriously undermine your credibility.
Building a sentence
Building a sentence
• A sentence is a group of words which starts
with a capital letter and ends with a full stop
(.), question mark (?) or exclamation mark (!).
The mechanic fixed the car.
Did the mechanic fix the car?
What a smart mechanic he fixed the car!
Parts of a sentence
Description
Adjective
Describes things or people.
Adverb
Alters the meaning of the verb slightly
Article
a, an - indefinite articles
the - definite articles
Conjunction
Joins words or sentences together
Interjection
A short word showing emotion or feeling
Noun
Names things
Preposition
Relates one thing to another
Pronoun
used instead of a noun to avoid repetition
Proper noun (subject)
The actual names of people or places etc.
Verb
Action or doing word
Active or passive
Active or passive
• Passive voice and active voice refer to the movement of action
through the sentence. In an active sentence, the subject is the "doer"
and comes first, the verb or "action word" follows, then the object
receives the verb's action. In a passive sentence, the subject's
function changes and it becomes the receiver of the verb's action,
while the object, if it even shows up at all, takes on the function of
the "doer."
Consider the following active and passive sentences:
o Passive: The streetlights were broken by the kid.
The subject kid is the "doer," while the object
streetlights receives the action.
o Active: The kid broke the streetlights.
The subject streetlights now acts as the receiver of the action, while
the object kid is the doer.
The passive sentence is longer (7 words for the passive vs. 5 words
for the active), and its construction is often considered weaker.
Passive constructions are weak, so why do people write in the
passive voice?
One reason is that it allows them to hide responsibility for their
actions. Consider this modified passive voice sentence:
Modified passive: The streetlights were broken.
What is missing? The doer-the kid who broke the streetlights. The
sentence may be grammatically correct, but it leaves out an
important piece of information. We no longer know who is
responsible!
• People sometimes use the passive voice to hide their responsibility
in something that is bad; then, in the same sentence, they switch to
active voice to take credit for something that is good. Consider this
compound sentence:
Passive
Active
Your medical records were lost, but I found them.
When to Use the Passive
• Active voice is often, but not always, preferred in technical
writing because it is more direct, it is clearer, and it provides
the most information with the fewest words.
• However, passive voice does have its place in technical writing.
It can be useful when the doer of the sentence is unimportant
or obvious, or when the receiver of the action is the primary
focus.
• It is often preferred because it "sounds" more objective and
can also be a useful way of breaking the pattern of sentence
structure to keep the reader from falling asleep. Also, as
mentioned earlier, passive voice may be useful when one
wants to hide responsibility.
• Finally, passive voice is appropriate when some higher
authority expects it. For example, if you are writing a technical
article for a journal that prefers passive voice as a matter of
style, then use the passive voice.