Re: Declarative vs. imperative
Will you please post your editorial advice for the following situation? It's for a colleague of mine.
"I am working on a manual of procedures concerning safety for inspectors and have come across a mishmash of text that switches from....declarative statements such as 'Inspectors must always....' to ones addressed directly to the reader that are imperative such as 'you must never ... you are required to be....'
As a related sidebar, I hasten to encourage using the positive instead of the negative. Stress what should be done rather than what should not be done.
s
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References:
Wired article on "RTFM": From: Sandy Harris
Declarative vs. imperative: From: Ruby Isaacs
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