THE LANGUAGE OF TECHNICAL WRITING

1. Practice conciseness
Conciseness which means expressing oneself in the fewest number of words at the same
time retaining completeness in meaning is possible through the following methods:
A. Shortening words/phrases
Word Phrases Shortened Forms
Afford an opportunity permit
Along the lines like
An additional another
At a later date later
At a rapid rate past
A great number of times often
Am in receipt of received
Arrive at an agreement agree
As soon as possible by 8:00 a.m.
As a consequence because
At the present time now
By means of by
Come to end end
Despite the fact that although
Due to the fact that because
During the course of during
Enclosed please find enclosed
For the part of for
Give consideration consider
In order to purchase to buy
In the advent of before
In the amount of of
In the event that if
In the final analysis finally
In the proximity of near


In the first place first
In accordance with according to
In the near future soon
Prior to before
Subsequent to after
With regard to about

B. Substituting long and complex words with short simple
Long / Complex Words Short / Simple Words
Advantageous helpful
Alleviate lessen
Approximately about
Commence begin
Demonstrate show
Discontinue stop
Employ use
Endeavour try
Fabricate make
Finalize end
Initiate begin
Maintain keep
Modification change
Numerous many
Prioritize rank
Procure buy
Remittance pay
Sufficient enough
Supersede replace
Terminate end
Transmit send
Undertake try
Utilization use



C. Avoid nominalizations or the use of camouflaged or shun words (words ending in
sion or tion), replace them with active words.
Nominalizations Active Words
Come to conclusion conclude/decide
With the exemption of except for
Make revisions revise
Implementation of implement
Investigation of the investigate
Take consideration consider
Assessment of assess
Cancelation of cancel
Classification of classify
Development of develop
Utilization of use

D. Omitting clichs, hackneyed, trite, old-fashioned, worn-out expressions
Clich Fresh / natural language
According to our records our records shows
At all times always
As plain as day clear
Attached hereto attached
Enclosed herewith enclosed
At your convenience by the end of ________
At an early date (specify the date)
Needless to say obviously
By leaps and bounds very fast
Take pleasure are happy
Thanking you in advance I shall appreciate
This is to inform you
(say immediately what you wish to tell
the reader)
We take this opportunity (state your intension immediately)
Hoping to receive I hope to receive
This is to request (state your request immediately)


We beg to advice We can say that
As per your request as you request
It has come to my attention I understand that
Prior to receipt of before we receive
Enclosed please find We are enclosing
Your letter of recent date letter of May 2
Of the above date June 2
I deem I think
Trusting this will I trust this...
With your kind permission May I
Favour us with a reply please, reply

E. Avoiding redundancies or words that say the same meaning
Dont say Say
During the year of 2012 In 2012
In the month of July In July
The sum of 300 pesos 300 pesos
Like for example like or for example
New invention new
Collaborated together worked together
Plan in advance plan
The reason why why
True facts facts
Past experience experience
Regular monthly status report monthly
Few in number few
This is the way how to This is the way or this is how
I mean to say I mean or I say
Color green green





F. Avoiding expletives or sentences with no true subjects like sentences beginning with
There is, There are, Here is, It is, It has been, and many more
Dont say Say
There are many customers at the lobby. Many customers are at...
There is a sharp tool on that table. A sharp tool is on that...
There will be a meeting tomorrow. A meeting will be...
It is requested that you stay. You are requested to...
Here is the answer or Mr. Lee. The answer of Mr. Lee is...

G. Cancel or drop extra words
Do not say:
1. Allowing the agents request means the slowing of all confidential documents.
2. I think that the checking of all records is important.
3. It is necessary for the customers that they have to surrender the receipts to the officer in
charge of the day in order to get a refund.
Say:
1. Allowing the agents request means showing confidential documents.
2. I think checking of all records is important.
3. The customers have to surrender the receipts to the officer to get a refund.

2. Express your ideas in active voice rather than in passive voice
Sentences in active voice stress the doer of the action; In passive voice, the receiver of
the action. At times, some prefer to use passive voice to prevent the frequent use of I
because the repeated use of this personal pronoun somehow indicates self-centeredness,
monotony, or repetitiveness. Between these two voices of verbs, many technical writers find
the use of active voice better because this clearly recognizes the identity of the person
answerable for the act. According to Vanhauss(2005), technical writing should be an action-
oriented style, rather than be one with a great deal of hidden words.



3. Use non-sexist instead of sexist language by expressing yourself in the following
ways:
A. Using plural pronoun s instead of single pronoun

Do not Say:
1. The technician has to show his I.D. card to the guard.
2. Each reporter should submit his monthly report on time.
Say:
1. The technicians have to show their I.D. cards to the guard.
2. Reporters should submit their work on time.

B. Using second person point of view instead of third person point of view
Do not Say:
1. She presented her proposal report on time.
2. The customer showed his receipt to the guard.
Say:
1. Present your proposal report on time.
2. Show your receipt to the guard.

C. Using expressions like He or She him or her. Avoid using a slash mark He/She him/her.
Others however find He or She him or her wordy, hence, they prefer using the plural form
their, or the second person point of view you
Do not Say:
1. The customer explained her point to the manager.
2. The X-ray technician affixed his signature to the document.
3. She is willing to pay any amount for his choice.


Say:
1. The customer explained his or her point to the manager.
2. The architect affixed his or her signature to the document.
3. He or she is willing to pay any amount for his or her choice.

4. Avoid using words that explicitly favour one gender
Do not say: Say:
Businessman business person
Chairman chairperson
Craftsman artist, crafts person
Layman layperson
Manpower personnel
Policeman police officer
Salesman sales person
Congressman congress person
Spokesman spokes person
Security man security person
Mankind humanity
Milkman milk person
Repairman repair person
Fireman fire fighter
Sportsman sports person
Camera man camera operator
Career girl artist, designer

5. Avoid using jargons, gobbledygook, horse-and-buggy, or verbal dead words
These expressions are long, pretentious, ang high-sounding; words that have no
significant or necessary place in the sentence. Appearing complex, they work to hide the true
meaning of the term or make the writer sound learned or professional. Eliminate these vague
expressions by substituting them with simple and easier terms. One good rule of thumb in
technical writing is: Write to express, not to impress. This means that you have to write the way
you speak or use in your day-to-day interactions with people.(Guffey, 2005)


Jargons are technical terms commonly used by people belonging to the same field of
profession. Exclusively used by a specific set of persons like the lawyers, the physicians, the
engineers, or the businessmen, these terms do not sound familiar or understandable to
ordinary persons in society. Seemingly, the use of these terms works to exclude laypersons from
knowing what are happening in a company of experts or specialists or of people belonging to
one field of profession.
Examples:
Legal profession - habeas corpus, subpoena, status quo, preliminary injunction,
corpus delicti
Business world - rebate, assets and liabilities, amortization, mortgage, balance
sheet, investment
Medical world - stethoscope, hypertension, different diagnosis, formaldehyde,
silver nitrate, metrectomy
Computer world - user-friendly, on-line adapter, debug, open shop, quick-access
storage, scramble time
Teaching profession - lesson plan, grade sheet, intrinsic motivation, systemic-functional
grammar, communicative competence

6. Give careful attention to words and phrases that are commonly misused and
misspelled
Examples:
a. Accept to take something seriously
Except to exclude a rule or statement from a list
Let him accept those tools except the one with a red mark.
b. Adapt to adjust or to be in harmony with somebody
Adopt to make a person own a thing belonging to another person
If you are familiar with their culture, you can easily adapt yourself to their cultural
practices and will eventually make you adopt every aspect of their lifestyle in your long
exposure to this cultural group.
c. Affect a verb used to mean having an influence on another person or thing
Effect a result from a cause


The managers resignation will not affect the companys business reputation, but may
have an effect on the economic standing of his family.
d. Already by this time or before a particular moment
All ready state of being fit or balanced for an immediate action or use
The company secretary has already sent a notice of meeting to all members who seem
to be all ready in discussing salient points in the general assembly.
e. Between a preposition for only two person, thing, or places
Among a preposition for three or more persons, places, or things
Among all the imported products, the Japan-made item placed between two big
boxes appear qualitative.
f. Counsel a person serving as a legal adviser
Council a body or group of persons to discuss a material or legal aspect of thing
Please, make sure that your counsel will attend the meeting of the AB Council
tomorrow.
g. Credible believable
Creditable quite good; more than just satisfactory
A credible company has many business methods and techniques in making their
products credible to all kinds of
h. Dessert (noun) sweet food served at the end of a meal
Dessert (noun) large area of land with not enough vegetation
Desert (verb) to abandon; to break off from; to give up
I experienced having the best dessert in the Sahara dessert that many want to desert
because of its extra-dry condition.
i. Differ from not the same in observation
Differ with not the same in opinion
As to size, the two differ from each other; as to their usefulness, the prospective buyers
of the machine differ with one another.
j. Emigrant a person going out of the country
Immigrant a person going into a country not his own


Emigrants from the Philippines prefer to live as immigrants in the United States of
America.
k. Lie an intransitive verb which means to be in a reclining or horizontal position
Lay a transitive verb which means to place
Lay your tools on that long bench where you often choose to lie down during your free
time.
l. Loose (adjective) not fastened of firmly fixed
Lose (verb) to fail to see something; to become unable to find
Giving that tiny tool a very loose position in that compartment will make you lose such
device easily.
m. Practical useful at all times (for persons and things)
Practicable can be practiced or applied (for things only)
Such kind of work schedule is practicable during summer, but not practical for one
coming from a rural area.
n. Principal main chief or first of importance
Principle basic truth or rule
One of the principal objectives of the newly appointed principal of the elementary
school is to apply the principle of first come; first serve basis among the grant-in-old
recipients.
o. Respectfully giving full respect or consideration to someone
Respectably doing something that will earn other peoples respect
Respectively referring to series of things following a certain arrangement
The engineer respectfully told the guests to present their standpoints on the machines
respectably to the CEO, the HRD Director, the Chief Accountant, and several branch
managers respectively seated at the conference table.