Company Writer's Guide

SECTION 1

STYLE GUIDE

This section of the Writer’s Guide is intended to establish a basic writing style that is clear, concise, and consistent in presentation of information. Technical information requires more stringent standardization than is common in general usage. Therefore, generating a deliverable to accommodate an expeditious technical review requires avoiding confusing or ambiguous statements and unnecessarily verbose descriptions.

1.1WRITING STYLE APPROACH

Avoid use of colloquialisms in writing. Terms like “putting your best foot forward” or “cutting to the quick” can be misunderstood by international customers and lead to confusion. Conversational English is inappropriate for formal business and technical writing. Keep language clear and precise.

The following guidelines will help improve your writing and allow us to present a standardized “look and feel” in deliverables to customers.

Great Content, Economically Delivered

The most effective technical writing is taut, information-rich material that easily conveys the most important points. Here are some ways you can achieve this.

1.Try to restrict acronym use to the five to ten most important acronyms in a subject area and write out the secondary or peripheral terms.

2.Always write in a simple and direct style by avoiding:

•Wordiness (examples of wordiness appear in Table 1.1-1)

•Strings of adjectives

•Puffery (Our company is uniquely qualified ...)

•Phrases and words that obscure the central meaning, for example:

Wrong: The system is designed such that active components are capable of being tested during plant operation.

Right: The active components can be tested during plant operation.

[For Illustration Only]

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