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Subject:Re: passive voice is discussed actively From:Stephen Victor <svictor -at- LGC -dot- COM> Date:Fri, 19 Jan 1996 09:45:09 -0600
Gwen Barnes wrote:
<snip>
> I would make a case for using a passive sentence directed at nobody in
> particular in this instance, so that everyone reading the manual is
> implicitly responsible for the correct installation of the pump.
One of the traditional objections to the passive voice is that it can
diffuse responsibility by removing an agent. I think this is possibly
the best argument against widespread use of the passive voice.
A well-organized manual contains some statement of the manual's intended
audience. A well-written procedure contains active, imperative sentences
directed (implicitly) at that audience.
Regards,
Steve
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Stephen P. Victor svictor -at- lgc -dot- com
Landmark Graphics Corporation svictor -at- compassnet -dot- com
15150 Memorial Drive http://www.cda.ulpgc.es/steve.html
Houston, TX 77079 USA De gustibus non disputandum est
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