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I don't do release notes, but I do include chapters titled "Historical Information"
and "Technical Modifications" in some of the manuals I write. I have found that
it's best to write each item in the clearest, least clumsy way. This means that
sometimes I'll have something like your first example, and sometimes it will read
more like your second example.
There are people who want everything to follow a strict format, parallel
construction, blah blah blah. When this results in clear expression, I'm all for
it. When it results in an awkward sentence or paragraph, I would rather deviate
from the path, and make things clear.
Jo
--
Jo Baer
Senior Technical Writer
TCF National Bank
Minneapolis, Minnesota
jbaer -at- mailbox1 -dot- tcfbank -dot- com
Weakness Through Strength
Fanatics may defend a point of view
so strongly as to prove it can't be true.
Piet Hein
Cadorette Johanne wrote:
> Hello all,
>
> I'm editing release notes and have a list of corrected bugs that are
> written like this:
>
> "When an entry was copied, it wasn't possible to record its name using
> the name recorder."
>
> It could also read:
>
> "When an entry is copied, it is now possible to record its name..."
>
> I've seen both styles used, but am wondering if one is better than the
> other.
>
> (BTW, not all the bugs are that simple and I'm not sure they could all
> be re-written that way.)
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