Re: Variety in Tech Writing (was: Display, Displays, or Appears)

[Ned Bedinger <doc -at- edwordsmith -dot- com>]

I'm blessed with the novelty-seeking gene, and I don't begrudge the odd 
writer-responsible glitch when reading, but when the writing causes me 
to flip pages back and compare passages, I would rather being doing it 
because the information embedded in the writing suggests it, not because 
of a variety of ways it has been expressed.

What catches me out is this: I recognize that the shape of the sentences 
is different from the earlier passage where I read the same information 
in a different form. Yes, I do. Then I feel I need to go back and check 
for the difference, in case there really is any.

My bottom line is that I want the information to take shape with as few 
variables as possible, within reason. Novelty has its places, and I've 
seen respectable manuals where no holds were barred in pursuit of 
creative goals, but I wouldn't want to find it in dense reading material 
like, oh say an enterprise software manual. Textbooks are another 
example where I prefer that the same message be presented the same way 
each time.


Ned Bedinger
doc -at- edwordsmith -dot- com


Combs, Richard wrote:
> Keith Hood wrote:
> 
>> Say you have a field where you enter a new password, and the password
> has
>> to include both letters and numbers. You could express that several
> ways:
>>   "Use both letters and numbers in the new password."
>>   "The password must have letter and numbers."
>>   "Valid passwords will contain numbers and letters."
>>
>> All these descriptions give the same information. If you have multiple
>> places where the user has to create a new password (I've seen
> applications
>> like that), it doesn't hurt to use slightly different wording of how
> the
>> password must be structured, as long as the reader quickly and easily
>> understands the main requirements.
> 
> Actually, it does hurt. In the third sentence, for instance, the change
> to future tense and reversal of order to "numbers and letters" will
> require me to slow down while my mind confirms that this requirement
> really is the same as the one I learned earlier. 
> 
> It may not take long or be dangerous, but you've increased the cognitive
> load. Multiply that by a thousand instances, and using your document
> requires significantly more mental effort than it needs to. 
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