RE: Breaking into the tech writing job market

[Jane Credland <circe -at- lmi -dot- net>]

Quoting Laura Lemay:

> When we as tech writers aim for a sxith grade reading level it just
> means we should be writing short, declarative sentences;  that we are
> writing plainly and clearly;  that we are using active voice, and that
> we are avoiding jargon or complex language our audience will not  
> understand.   Those basic rules apply regardless of complexity of the  
> subject or sophistication of the audience.

I agree. 

We also have to remember that no matter their level of subject knowledge or
education, the first language of any user may not be English. 

I was reminded of this in the last release when the developer who programmed the
code I was documenting commented that she had a hard time parsing the few
longer, more complex sentences that I had left in. And she knew what I was
trying to say.

Jane
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