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20 Technical Style (4)

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8 views

20 Technical Style (4)

Uploaded by

9txy6tzmvz
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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“If language is not correct, then what is said

is not what is meant; if what is said is not


what is meant, then what ought to be done
remains undone”

Confucius
Technical Style

“Proper words in proper places”


Jonathan Swift

“Dress of thoughts”
Lord Chesterfield

“Style is a thinking out into language”


Cardinal Newman
Why Written Communication?
• Suitable for long distance communication and repetitive standing orders.

• Creates permanent record of evidence and can be used for future reference.

• Gives the receiver sufficient time to think, act and react.

• Can be used as legal document.

• Can be sent to many persons at a time.

• Suitable for sending statistical data, chart, diagram, pictures, etc.


• Order, allocation of work, job distribution, etc. in written form reduce
ambiguity and help in fixation of responsibility.
• Uniformity in work procedure can be maintained through written
communication.
• Easy to send unpleasant or bad news through written communication.

• A good written communication can create goodwill and promote business.


Limitations of Written Communication

• Time-consuming-- Writing letters, typing orders, notices, etc. and sending to


appropriate destination require time. Feedback process also is not instant.
• Expensive in terms of so many people spending so much of their time.

• Maintain strict secrecy, possible in oral communi­cation, is not possible at


times.
• Does not have scope for immediate clarification if not understood properly.

• It is less flexible and cannot be changed easily.

• Not effective in the case of emergency.


Scientific Attitude
– Be objective in your approach

– Be impartial in the analysis of data

– Be truthful in the presentation of facts

– Use clear and readable, precise and concrete language

– Reject all amplifications, digressions and ornaments of style .

– Bring your language to ‘mathematical plainness’

– Style of the report should not be rigid, stiff and dull.


– Variety and creativity are characteristics of all human communication

– The report writing allows the same freedom of choice of diction and structure.

– Generally the use of the passive voice and the third person is preferred.

– You need not completely avoid the use of the active voice and first person.

Example: Passive: Reports on this subject have been written by several students.

Active: Several students have written reports on this subject.


– Too much use of ‘I’ should be avoided.
Readability
• A report is written for a specific readership.

• Try to know your reader before you write, his intellectual ability;
level of education and background knowledge; expectations.

• Assume that the reader is as intelligent as you are but does not
have the specialist’s knowledge you have on the subject.

• “Care should be taken, not that the reader may understand if he


will, but that he must understand whether he will or not”.
(Lord Samuel)
Practical Hints

Choice of words and phrases

– Words behave differently in different contexts and situations.

– Choose such words as would evoke in the mind of the reader


the same thought which is in your mind.

– Use a specific word instead of a general term and a concrete


instead of an abstract word.
– Ex:
He reads a particular newspaper daily (The Hindu).
Please expedite action on our proposal (speed up)
He has developed a petrol-saver (designed).
Use verbs instead of –tion phrases formed from
verbs:
Phrases Verbs
Make a selection Select
Take into consideration Consider
Tender resignation Resign
Offer the suggestion Suggest
Make an application Apply
Conciseness

“You can suffocate a thought by expressing it in too

many words” (Frank Clark).


• Pay attention to modifiers, elaborate prepositions&
conjunctions, and phrases to introduce a topic.
Examples:
It is difficult to make an approximation of how much
money it would cost (14 words).

Revision: It is difficult to estimate its cost (07 words).

Some people labour under the impression that air


pollution is a special preserve of the highly developed
countries (18)

Revision: Some people think that air pollution occurs


only in highly developed countries (12).
“That writer does the most, who gives the reader the

most information, and takes from him the least

time”

(Charles C. Colton).
Plainness:
• Avoid long and unfamiliar words.
• Use the plain and familiar words.

Long and Unfamiliar Plain


accommodate fit
accomplish do
aggregate total
commence begin
purchase buy
Cliches
• Def: It is “a phrase whose aptness in a particular context when it was first
invented has own it such a popularity that it has become hackneyed, and is used
without thought in contexts where it is no longer apt” (Sir E. Growers).

• Some of the Cliches: burning question, acid test, leave no stone unturned, food
for thought, conspicuous by absence, last but not the least, heart and soul, part
and parcel, the iron hands of the law, hotbed, melting pot, leaves much to be
desired, achieve a radical transformation, an axe to grind,fish in troubled water
etc.

• Overuse of cliches should be avoided if it sounds a discordant note in your


expression.
• However, if you find a cliché which best expresses your meaning, don’t hesitate
to use it.
Jargons

• It refers to a language full of technical or special words.

• Don’t use jargons, if possibly you can avoid it.

• Use of jargons for the expressions which could be best


conveyed in plain language is treated as derogatory,
implying unintelligibility.
• Example:
The decision to eschew an immediate price-increase has been
taken by the firm in the interests of facilitating agreementation
within the industry as a whole on a standardizationalized policy of
simultaneous action on prices, which will, it is hoped, be agreed on
within the next few months.
Revision: The firm has decided to postpone an immediate price
increase by a few months. It is hoped that within this period the
industry as a whole will arrive at an agreement about simultaneous
action on prices.
Construction and Length of sentences

• If a sentence has several (more than 3) conjunctions, see


whether you can achieve greater clarity by splitting it into
two or more smaller sentences.
• Remove any words which do not perform any function.
• Avoid monotony, vary the construction and length of your
sentences.
• Choose a subject about which you are going to say
something, and a verb that conveys what you want to
convey about that subject.
• Use the device of repetition of a word or phrase to link
your sentences in a paragraph.
• Ex.:-
We can see from the above diagram that though the average number of
customers per day is small, the turnover is the maximum because at
other restaurants the main items of sale are tea, coffee and snacks
whereas at this restaurant meals are also available.

Revision: The above diagram shows that the turnover of this restaurant is
the maximum, although the average number of customers is small. The
reason for this is that others sell only tea, coffee and snacks whereas at
this restaurant meals are also available.
Use Signpost Phrases

• For reinforcing an idea already expressed or for adding a closely linked


idea use—also, certainly, furthermore, in addition, moreover etc.
• For contrasting with, or qualifying, a statement already made use—
although, after all, but, except for, however etc.
• For illustrating a statement use—for example, for instance, such as thus
etc.
• For comparing use—similarly, in the same way, both, equally important
etc.
• For concluding use—therefore, as a result, consequently, accordingly
etc.
Remember
• One should avoid constructions that are likely to be
misunderstood, even if they are arguably "correct" according to
a style manual or dictionary. It is not enough to make a
document easy to read, it should also be difficult to
misunderstand.
• Never begin a sentence with a word that has an "-ing" suffix.
For example:
• "Assuming a << 1 and substituting in Eq. 12, the relation
becomes Eq. 14."
Equations neither assume nor substitute. It should read:
"When a << 1, Eq. 12 can be simplified to become Eq. 14."
Put statements in positive form (Strunk and White rule 15). Avoid
statements like:
• "None of these integers were non-negative."
Say instead:
• "All of these integers were negative."

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