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I prefer version 1, myself - tell them what to do and when to do it - the
important stuff gets lost the other way. also, you might say "Sniff the
product to check for strong odors..." or some such, rather than "find out
if" - also, "strong odors" is a very subjective thing (just ask my husband,
who has *no* sense of smell!).
Becca
ncr02!bprice -at- attmail -dot- com
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From: TECHWR-L
To: internet!VM1.ucc.okstate.edu!TECHWR-L (Multiple recipients of list
TECHWR-L)
Subject: STYLE:HELP
Date: Tuesday, July 25, 1995 8:39AM
Help. Which construction is better? Is the first sentence conditional?
1. ALERT: Look for visible meat fibers when inspecting rawhide chews and
dog toys.
Sniff the product to find out if it has a strong odor. If you detect
either
meat fibers or a strong odor, the rawhide product is not enterable.
2. ALERT: When inspecting rawhide chews and dog toys, look for visible
meat fibers.
Sniff the product to find out if it has a strong odor. If you detect
either meat
fibers or a strong odor, the rawhide product is not enterable.
This is a controversy in our manual's section. And, we want to get it
right. It's for a manual agricultural officers use to protect our country's
livestock from foreign pathogens.