Choose the Most Accurate Statement Below About Reviewing a Team Document

2. PROFESSIONAL Way

2.2 Communicating with Precision

And so far nosotros accept discussed the importance of writing with the reader in mind; of hit the right tone for your audience, message, and purpose; of writing constructively; and of writing persuasively. At present we movement onto the actual writing itself.  2 key characteristics of professional technical communication are that information technology is precise and curtailed. This precision and concision must be axiomatic at all levels, from the overall certificate, to paragraphing, to sentence structure to word pick, and even to punctuation. Every discussion or phrase should take a distinct and useful purpose.  If information technology doesn't, cut it or revise.

The 7 C's are simply seven words that begin with C that characterize potent professional style. Applying the vii C's of professional communication will result in writing that is

• Clear
• Coherent
• Curtailed
• Concrete
• Correct
• Consummate
• Courteous.

Articulate writing involves knowing what you want to say earlier you say it because ofttimes a lack of clarity comes from unclear thinking or poor planning; this, unfortunately, leads to confused or annoyed readers. Articulate writing conveys the purpose of the certificate immediately to the reader; it matches vocabulary to the audience, avoiding jargon and unnecessary technical or obscure language while at the same time existence precise. In clarifying your ideas, ensure that each sentence conveys one thought, and that each paragraph thoroughly develops ane unified concept.

COHERENT writing ensures that the reader tin can easily follow your ideas and your train of idea. One idea should lead logically into the next through the use of transitional words and phrases, structural markers, planned repetition, sentences with clear subjects, headings that are clear, and effective and parallel lists. Writing that lacks coherence often sounds "choppy" and ideas seem disconnected or incomplete. Coherently connecting ideas is similar building bridges betwixt islands of thought and so the reader can hands motion from one idea to the side by side.

Curtailed writing uses the to the lowest degree words possible to convey the most pregnant while nonetheless maintaining clarity. Avoid unnecessary padding, awkward phrasing, overuse of "to exist" forms (is, are, was, were, am, be, existence), long preposition strings, vagueness, unnecessary repetition and back-up. Use active verbs whenever possible, and take the time to choose a single give-and-take rather than a long phrase or cliched expression. Remember of your word count like a budget; be toll constructive past making sure every word you choose does constructive work for you.  Cut a word, relieve a buck! Equally William Zinsser asserts, "the cloak-and-dagger of good writing is to strip every sentence to its cleanest components."^[ane]

Physical writing involves using specific, precise language to paint a flick for your readers then that they can more than easily understand your ideas. If you have to explain an abstract concept or idea, try to apply examples, analogies, and precise language to illustrate it. Use measurable descriptors whenever possible; avoid vague terms like "large" or "good." Effort to go your readers to "see" your ideas by using specific terms and descriptions.

CORRECT writing uses standard English punctuation, sentence structure, usage, and grammar. Existence correct also means providing authentic information, as well as using the right document blazon and class for the chore.

Consummate writing includes all requested information and answers all relevant questions. The more concrete and specific you are, the more probable your document volition be complete also. Review your checklist of specifications before submitting your document to its intended reader.

COURTEOUS writing entails designing a reader-friendly, easy-to-read document; using tactful language and appropriate modes of addressing the audition; and fugitive potentially offensive terminology, usage, and tone. As nosotros have discussed in an early on section, without courtesy you cannot be effective.

In some cases, some of these might come into conflict: what if being as well concise results in a tone that sounds terse, or an idea that seems incomplete? Figure 2.2.one illustrates one method of putting all the 7Cs together.

Effigy 2.ii.i Putting all the 7Cs together ^[two] [Image description]

Be mindful of the tradeoffs, and always give priority to beingness articulate: writing that lacks clarity cannot be understood and therefore cannot reach its purpose. Writing that adheres to the seven C's helps to constitute your brownie every bit a technical professional.

Think the librarian's "garbled memo" from the Case Studies in Chapter 1.4? Attempt revising information technology so that it adheres to the 7 Cs; make information technology articulate, coherent, concrete and concise, while likewise being complete, courteous and correct.

MEMO

When workloads increase to a level requiring hours in backlog of an employee'southward regular duty consignment, and when such piece of work is estimated to require a total shift of 8 (8) hours or more on two (2) or more consecutive days, even though unscheduled days intervene, an employee'southward tour of duty shall be contradistinct so as to include the hours when such work must be done, unless an adverse bear upon would result from such employee'southward absenteeism from his previously scheduled consignment.

While variety makes for interesting writing, as well much of information technology tin also reduce clarity and precision. Technical writing tends to use simple sentence structures more ofttimes than the other types. That said, simple does not necessarily mean "simplistic," short, or lacking in density. Remember that in grammatical terms, simple just ways that information technology has one principal clause (1 subject and one predicate). You can still convey quite a scrap of concrete data in a simple sentence.

The other consideration for precise writing is length. Your sentences should vary in length but every bit they can vary in type. All the same, you desire to avoid having too many long sentences because they have longer to read and are often more complex. That is advisable in academic writing but less and then in technical writing. The goal is to aim for an boilerplate of around 20 to thirty words per sentence. Reserve the short sentences for main points and use longer sentences for supporting points that clarify or explain cause and event relationships. If you feel the judgement is too long, intermission it into two sentences. You lot do not want your reader to accept to read a sentence twice to understand it. If yous make compound or circuitous sentences, ensure that you utilise appropriate coordinating or subordinating strategies to make the relationship between clauses perfectly clear. See Appendix Eastward to review specific information on elementary, compound, and complex sentence structures.

Technical writing is precise writing. Vague, overly general, hyperbolic or subjective/ambiguous terms are simply non advisable in this genre. Yous practise not desire to choose words and phrasing that could be interpreted in more than one way. For instance, if yous asked someone to define what makes a "good dog," yous might go responses similar "obedient, effective hunter/retriever, well-behaved, appreciating, loyal, therapeutic, goofy" and "all dogs are good!" Choose words that most precisely, concisely, and accurately convey the idea you lot want to convey. Below are some guidelines and examples to follow for using precise wording.

1. Replace abstract nouns with verbs.

Verbs, more than nouns, assistance convey ideas concisely, so where possible, avoid using nouns derived from verbs. Ofttimes these abstract nouns end in – tion and – ment . See examples in the following nautical chart.

Abstract Noun	Verb
conquering	acquire
analysis	analyze
recommendation	recommend
ascertainment	find
application	apply
confirmation	confirm
development	develop
ability	able, can
assessment	appraise

2. Prefer short words to long words and phrases.

The goal is to communicate direct and obviously so use short, directly words whenever possible. In other words, don't utilize long words or phrases when short ones will do. Write to express, not print.

Long	Short
cognizant; exist cognizant of	aware, know
commence; get-go	begin, starting time
utilize; utilization	use (v), use (n)
inquire; make an inquiry	enquire
finalize; finalization	consummate, end
afford an opportunity to	permit, permit
at this betoken in time	now, currently
due to the fact that	because, due to
has the ability to	can

iii. Avoid clichés.

Clichés are expressions that you have probably heard and used hundreds of times. They are over-used expressions that have largely lost their meaning and touch.

Clichés	Alternatives
as plain as day	plainly, obvious, articulate
ballpark figure	virtually, approximately
few and far between	rare, infrequent
needless to say	of class, apparently
last but non to the lowest degree	finally, lastly
every bit far equally ___ is concerned	?

iv. Avoid cluttered constructions.

This category includes redundancies, repetitions, and "in that location is/are" and "information technology is" constructions.

Redundancies
combine/join together	fill completely	unite as one
finish entirely	refer/return/revert back to	emphasize/stress strongly
examine (closely)	of a sudden interrupt	improve/further enhance
eventually evolve over time	strictly forbid	rely/depend heavily
plan ahead	harshly condemn	protest against
completely surroundings on all sides	estimate/guess roughly	get together/assemble together
conspicuously  articulate	advisedly consider	successfully prove
time to come programme	common agreement	years of age
in actual fact	positive benefits	end result/product

5. Utilise accurate wording.

Sometimes this requires more words instead of fewer, so do not sacrifice clarity for concision. Brand sure your words convey the pregnant you intend. Avoid using words that have several possible meanings; do non go out room for ambiguity or alternating interpretations of your ideas. Keep in mind that readers of technical writing tend to cull literal meanings, so avoid figurative language that might be disruptive (for example, using the give-and-take "decent" to describe something y'all like or remember is good). Split up facts from opinions past using phrases similar "we recommend," "nosotros believe," or "in our stance." Use consistent terminology rather than looking for synonyms that may be less precise.

Qualify statements that need qualifying, especially if there is possibility for misinterpretation. Practise not overstate through the use of absolutes and intensifiers.  Avoid overusing intensifiers like "extremely," and avoid absolutes similar "never, always, all, none" every bit these are almost never accurate. Remember Obiwan Kenobi's warning:

"Simply a Sith deals in absolutes."^[3]

We tend to overuse qualifiers and intensifiers, so beneath are some that you should exist enlightened of and consider whether you are using them effectively.

Overused Intensifiers
admittedly	actually	assuredly	certainly	conspicuously	completely
considerably	definitely	effectively	extremely	fundamentally	drastically
highly	in fact	incredibly	inevitably	indeed	interestingly
markedly	naturally	of course	specially	significantly	surely
totally	utterly	very	really	remarkably	tremendously

Overused Qualifiers
apparently	arguably	basically	substantially	generally	hopefully
in issue	in general	kind of	overall	perhaps	quite
rather	relatively	seemingly	somewhat	sort of	virtually

For a comprehensive list of words and phrases that should be used with circumspection, see Kim Blank's "Wordiness, Wordiness, Wordiness Listing."^[4]

6. Prefer the active voice.

The active phonation emphasizes the person/matter doing the activity in a sentence. For example, The outfielder throws the brawl. The bailiwick, "outfielder" actively performs the action of the verb "throw." The passive voice emphasizes the recipient of the action. In other words, something is being done to something by somebody: The ball was thrown (by the outfielder). Passive constructions are by and large wordier and ofttimes leave out the person/matter doing the action.

Active	Passive
S →V →O	S ←Five ←O
Subject → actively does the action of the verb → to the object of the sentence	Subject ← passively receives the action of the verb ← from the object
Subject → acts → on object	Subject ← is acted upon ← past the object

While the passive vocalization has a place—particularly if you desire to emphasize the receiver of an activeness every bit the subject of the sentence, or the action itself, or you want to avoid using showtime person—its overuse results in writing that is wordy, vague, and stuffy. When possible, use the active voice to convey who or what performs the activeness of the verb.

Precise writing encapsulates many of the 7 C's; information technology is clear, concise, concrete, and correct. But information technology is also authentic and active. To write precisely and employ the 7 C'due south, information technology is important to await critically at your sentences, perhaps in a fashion you may not have done earlier. You need to consider the blueprint of those sentences, from the words to the phrases to the clauses, to ensure that yous are communicating your message effectively.

Figure ii.2.1 paradigm description:

A priority list of the 7 Cs.

1. Articulate: Plan ahead! Know your purpose and convey your ideas in a unified manner.
2. Coherent: Organize your thoughts in a logical, structured progression.
3. Concise: Budget your words wisely; ensure your writing contains just what'due south necessary.
4. Physical: Employ specific and precise language, use measurable descriptors and avoid vague language.
5. Right: Adhere to proper grammar, punctuation, and certificate structure.
6. Complete: Give all the important information and respond all relevant questions.
7. Courteous: Format so that the document is easy to read. Utilize appropriate and tactful language.

[Return to Effigy 2.2.1]

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Source: https://pressbooks.bccampus.ca/technicalwriting/chapter/communicatingprecision/

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