Guidelines for Technical Writing Style

There are two distinct goals: (1) write each sentence so it is lively and easy to read and (2) write each sentence so it works together harmoniously with those that surround it.


Clear and Direct Style

To develop a clear and direct style, think about how you would say the idea in conversation (few people speak bureaucratese, but many of us write it). Develop a conversational style. This is not advice to "write as you speak"; but it is advice to think about how you'd say something first, then adapt that to your written communication.

1. Eliminate inflated language.
   
   Every word requires work from your readers, so make the task of reading as easy as possible for them by substituting one word for several wherever possible.
   
   

   Inflated		Concise
   along the lines of		like
   at this point in time		now
   because of the fact that		because
   by means of		by
   due to the fact that		because
   for the purpose of		for
   for the reason that		because
   in order to		to
   in spite of the fact that		although
   in the event that		if
   in the final analysis		finally
   until such time as		until

   
   
   
2. Keep related words together in your sentences.
   
   There are two key facts about the way we read.
   
   In English, word order indicates meaning. For example, consider the following:
   
   "The woman in the seat hit the man." (1)
   
   "The woman hit the man in the seat." (2)
   
   At times, we can't decode the message without additional information. Consider the following:
   
   "We sent a note about the proposal to Dr. Chester." (3)
   
   (Does this mean "We sent a note about the proposal which was made to Dr. Chester" or "We sent a note to Dr. Chester about the proposal"?)
   
   Usually this is an issue of slowing down your readers rather than totally confusing them. But confused readers are frustrated and irritated readers.
   
   Keep related words together because readers' short-term memory can only hold 5-9 bits of information at a time. Consider the following:
   
   "A simple account of this mechanism, showing that it acts as a stopper to an underground chamber filled with vapor under pressure until the steam accumulates to such a point that the pressure is released and the water is ejected upwards, is given in Appendix 1." (4)
   
   (Most of us have to read the sentence again to find the subject of the verb is given -- "A simple account.")
   
   
   
3. Focus on action and actors.
   
   
   1. Action in verbs. In other words, put the action in verbs rather than in other parts of speech.
      
      
   2. Nominalization. One way to spot sentences which don't express action in the verbs is to look for an important word that ends in one of these suffixes:
      
      -sion, -tion, -ment, -ing, -ion, -ance
      
      "We reached the conclusion that the observed decrease in grain size from the Beryl to the Bruce field suggests that the source of the fan or fans may have been towards the southwest." (5)
      
      Solution: "We concluded that the observed decrease in grain size from the Beryl to the Bruce field suggests that the source of the fan or fans may have been towards the southwest." (6)
      
      "We would like to make a recommendation that the upper oceanic crust be more thoroughly investigated." (7)
      
      Solution: "We recommend that the upper oceanic crust be more thoroughly investigated" (8)
      
      
   3. To Be Sentences. A second way to spot sentences which don't express action in the verbs is to look for sentences whose main verb is a form of to be (am, is, are, was, were, being, been, to be).
      
      "This procedure is a protection against reinfection." (9)
      
      (The main action is protecting, but the main verb is is.)
      
      Solution: "This procedure protects against reinfection." (10)
      
      "It is interesting to note that the crater lake at Poas entered a phase of continuous geysering in its final stage of existence in early 1989, which appeared not unlike the boiling of liquid in a pan, and is more suggestive of the second mechanism than the first." (11)
      
      (The main action is entered, but the sentence's main verb is is.)
      
      Solution: "Interestingly, the crater lake at Poas entered a phase of continuous geysering in its final stage of existence in early 1989, which appeared not unlike the boiling of liquid in a pan, and is more suggestive of the second mechanism than the first." (12)
      
      How to solve this problem
      
      
      • First, identify the main action of the sentence. Ask yourself, "What is happening in this sentence that is really crucial?" In sentence (9), for example, protecting is the main action.
        
      • Second, identify the actor. In sentence (9), the actor is "this procedure."
        
      • Third, start to say a sentence that begins with the actor and then immediately tell us the main action: "This procedure protects-"
      
      
      
   4. Use verbs in the active instead of in the passive wherever possible.
      
      The passive voice moves the thing acted upon by the verb into the subject slot, thus relegating the actor either to a weak position (object of a preposition) or to no position (left out of the sentence entirely). At times, of course, the passive is exactly what you should use. For instance, consider the following:
      
      "The field experiments were successfully conducted." (13)
      
      The chances are that who conducted those experiments is either too obvious to mention (our graduate assistants) or is simply not important enough to state. Hence this is a good time to use the passive.
      
      "The conclusion is reached that the extreme sensitivity of seismic velocities to changes in total porosity and aspect ratio distribution explain both age and depth dependence of compressional wave velocity in upper oceanic crust." (14)
      
      (Here the passive hides an important actor and so is ineffective.)
      
      Solution: "We concluded that the extreme sensitivity of seismic velocities to changes in total porosity and aspect ratio distribution explain both age and depth dependence of compressional wave velocity in upper oceanic crust." (15)
   
   
   
4. Emphasize what is most important.
   
   
   1. Place key information at the end of the sentence (key information is italicized):
      
      "The department's performance has been superb in all areas. (16)
      
      Solution: "In all areas, the department's performance has been superb." (17)
      
      (Move less important information to the front)
      
      
   2. Place key information in the main clause. Consider the emphasis in the following two sentences:
      
      "Although significant variations are found in details of any specific locale studies, a composite image of upper crustal structure at a variety of scales can be developed." (18)
      
      "Although a composite image of upper crustal structure at a variety of scales can be developed, significant variations are found in details of any specific locale studied." (19)
      
      
   3. Explicitly tell what information is key:
      
      "Economists pointed to three important causes of the stock market's decline: uncertainty about the outcome of next month's election, a rise in inventories of durable goods, and -- most important -- signs of rising inflation." (20)

Sentences Work Together Harmoniously

1. Smooth the flow of thought from sentence to sentence.
   
   
   1. Avoid needless shifts in topic:
      
      "Our department's new inventory system reduces our inventory costs considerably. Thousands of dollars have already been saved by this system." (21)
      
      (This is an unnecessary shift in topic from system to thousands.)
      
      Solution: Our department's new inventory system reduces our inventory costs considerably. It already saved thousands of dollars." (22)
      
      
   2. Use transitional words (these should be placed at beginning of sentence). Here are some examples:
      
      Also, although, as a result, besides, but, consequently, even though, for example, for instance, further, however, in addition, in contrast, in fact, in other words, moreover, nevertheless, next, first, second, similarly, therefore.
      
      
   3. Use echo words (the comment of one sentence becomes topic of next and should be placed at beginning of sentence). Consider this example:
      
      "The angular rates for the rotation poles were estimated by modeling isochron sequences apparently unaffected by ridge jumps, and the location of the pole was determined by matching fracture zone trends. The southern fracture zone of each piece of lithosphere was considered to govern the location of its rotation pole. For example, the pole locations for Pacific-Farallon spreading from chrons 13 to 10 were generally determined by the trend of the Murray FZ." (23)
   
   
   
2. Vary sentence length and structure.
   
   Usually, aim for sentences between 12-25 words long. Let's reconsider sentence (12):
   
   "Interestingly, the crater lake at Poas entered a phase of continuous geysering in its final stage of existence in early 1989, which appeared not unlike the boiling of liquid in a pan, and is more suggestive of the second mechanism than the first." (12)
   
   Solution: "Interestingly, the crater lake at Poas entered a phase of continuous geysering in its final stage of existence in early 1989. This stage appeared not unlike the boiling of liquid in a pan, and is more suggestive of the second mechanism than the first." (24)

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