© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 1 Chapter 11 Editing for a Professional Style and Tone Technical Communication, 12 th Edition John M. Lannon Laura Gurak

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 2 Writing Style  The way you construct each sentence  The length of your sentences  The way in which you connect sentences  The words and phrases you choose  The tone you convey

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 3 Edit for Clarity  Avoid ambiguous pronoun references  Avoid ambiguous modifiers  Unstack modifying nouns  Arrange word order for coherence and emphasis  Use active voice whenever possible  Use passive voice selectively  Avoid overstuffed sentences

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 4 Edit for Conciseness  Avoid wordy phrases.  Eliminate redundancy.  Avoid needless repetition.  Avoid there sentence openers.  Avoid some it sentence openers.  Delete needless prefaces.  Avoid weak verbs. Continued …

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 5 Edit for Conciseness  Delete needless to be constructions.  Avoid excessive prepositions.  Fight noun addiction.  Make negatives positive.  Clean out clutter words.  Delete needless qualifiers.

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 6 Edit for Fluency  Combine related ideas.  Vary sentence construction and length.  Use short sentences for special emphasis.

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 7 Find the Exact Words  Use simple and familiar wording.  Avoid useless jargon.  Use acronyms selectively.  Avoid triteness.  Avoid misleading euphemisms.  Avoid overstatement.  Avoid imprecise wording.  Be specific and concrete.  Use analogies to sharpen the image.

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 8 Adjust Your Tone  Use an occasional contraction.  Address readers directly.  Use I and we when appropriate.  Prefer the active voice.  Emphasize the positive.  Avoid an overly informal tone.  Avoid personal bias.  Avoid sexist usage.  Avoid offensive usage of all types.

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 9 Other Tips to Consider  Remember cultural context.  Remember legal and ethical implications of word choice. (You are accountable for what you say and write)  Use automated editing tools effectively, but DON’T DEPEND UPON THEM ENTIRELY! Know your grammar and spelling.

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 10 Any Questions? For additional help reviewing this chapter, please visit the Companion Website for your text at