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If this is to far off-topic, please delete this message rather than flame
me.
I'm a tech writer and I cook a lot. You would think a recipe in a cookbook
and writing, say, software documentation would have some similarities. But,
just as there is a fair amount of bad technical writing, cookbook recipes
seem to be even worse.
For example, beginning with a list of ingredients is great, but often they
aren't in any order that makes sense. And if the prep and cooking
instructions are numbered, they usually include several steps, not one at a
time. When the instructions are in prose, I find I often have to read the
paragraph two or three times to figure out what I am actually supposed to
do. And when I am told "do this, but not that" I am never told "why" (place
it in a plastic or ceramic bowl, not glass).
>From the point of view of a tech writer, what would be a better way to
present this kind of information.
I am looking for ideas as I document (surprise) my recipes and I don't want
to fall into the same trap.
_________________________________
Steven Shepard
Manager, Documentation Group
Yardi Systems, Inc.
819 Reddick Avenue
Santa Barbara, CA 93103
805/966-3822
steves -at- yardi -dot- com
www.yardi.com
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