atw: Re: It's Vs It is

Peter implied:
PM> speed and ease of understanding [are] the most 
PM> important criteria ...in technical communication, 
PM> provided accuracy can be maintained. 

Well said.

PM> most people will ...wonder about why the 
PM> apostrophe is there

I know you were half joking, but that issue could be a
show-stopper in some cases.

PM> Go with the flow and rhythm of the spoken language
PM> wherever you can.

I agree to a degree, but I'd be wary because:
* A spoken style has a more limited target audience.
Yesterday, for example, I read some help that said
such-and-such had just "gotten easier". That might
have made North American users feel all warm and
fuzzy, but for many other English speakers (myself
included), it could induce retching!
* Spoken English relies on voice and body language
(even pointing!) to convey much of the message, but it
also leaves more room for misunderstanding than does
technical writing. With the word "only", for instance,
the natural-sounding place to put it often leads to
ambiguity about what it applies to. 
* You need to decide how formal the text should be. If
it's too casual, it has less authority, but if it's
too stuffy, it'll alienate readers. (Both results are
similar!) 

PM> C'est vrai.

Nice one!

Regards,
Craig 

===== My e-mail address is:
===== craigh(at)attachesoftware(dot)com
===== (I may not see messages sent to my Yahoo address)

Find local movie times and trailers on Yahoo! Movies.
http://au.movies.yahoo.com
**************************************************
To post a message to austechwriter, send the message to 
austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

To subscribe to austechwriter, send a message to 
austechwriter-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with "subscribe" in the Subject field.

To unsubscribe, send a message to austechwriter-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 
"unsubscribe" in the Subject field.

To search the austechwriter archives, go to 
www.freelists.org/archives/austechwriter

To contact the list administrator, send a message to 
austechwriter-admins@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
**************************************************

Other related posts: