RE: active voice v. passive voice

["Michele Marques" <marquesm -at- autros -dot- com>]

Jane Carnall complains of a co-worker changing active to passive throughout
the manual and gives the following example:
> New: Two topologies are available in defining Cats: pedigree or moggy.
> Old: You can define two types of Cats: pedigree or moggy.

I don't believe there are absolutes for all situations of active vs. passive
voice or second vs. third person. It depends on what I am trying to
emphasize.

I generally prefer active imperative forms for procedural parts of the
manual. Here I am emphasizing the action. For example:
For the cat topology, select either pedigree or moggy.

For reference sections (e.g., background information), I usually use active
voice, but not exclusively. I generally do not use second person for
background information. In this situation, I would probably prefer the "new"
phrasing cited above if I wanted to emphasize that there are two topologies.

For pre-requisites, I use active second person when the person who would be
reading/doing the procedure should have completed the pre-requisite
(emphasizing "you" are responsible for this action), active third person
when another person (whom I can identify) should have completed the
pre-requisite (emphasizing who the user should turn to when the prerequisite
was not met), and passive voice when I can't identify who should have
completed the pre-requisite (e.g., it varies by policy and procedure and I
want to emphasize the current state). Some examples:
 * Before you create a new cat, you must define the cat topologies.
 * Before you create a new cat, the database administrator must define the
cat topologies.
 * Before you create a new cat, cat topologies must be defined.


--------------------------------------------
Michele Marques
Technical Writer,
Autros Healthcare Solutions
marquesm -at- autros -dot- com



^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Develop HTML-Based Help with Macromedia Dreamweaver 4 ($100 STC Discount)
**WEST COAST LOCATIONS** San Jose (Mar 1-2), San Francisco (Apr 16-17)
http://www.weisner.com/training/dreamweaver_help.htm or 800-646-9989.

Sponsored by ForeFront, Inc., maker of ForeHelp Help authoring tools
for print, WinHelp, HTML Help, JavaHelp, and cross-platform InterHelp
See www.forehelp.com for more information and free evaluation downloads

---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as: archive -at- raycomm -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot-  Visit 
http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.