Re. Passive standards

[geoff-h -at- MTL -dot- FERIC -dot- CA]

 Here's an approach that mixes active and passive voice but
 minimizes the passive: use a bulleted (or other) list. Use
 the passive in a brief phrase that introduces the list,
 then active voice in each list item. For example:

     Writers of standards shall:
     - use active voice everywhere,
     - read techwr-l religiously, and
     - hire a good editor.

 A few significant warnings:

 1. Never write lists in the negative; that is, don't
 preface the list with "...shall not". [If you insist,
 "Always write lists in the positive." <grin>] If you do
 this, there's a great risk that readers will forget the
 "not" by the time they reach the end of the list; worse
 yet, they may never even read the preface, believing that
 it probably says "shall blahblahblah". This can have
 unpleasant consequences if the last point in the list is
 (for ex.) "work with the device plugged in to avoid
 electrocution".

 2. If you split the list across two pages or columns,
 repeat the introductory phrase at the top of the new
 page/column, with some indication that you're continuing
 from a previous list. Repetition ensures that the context
 is present, and "continued" ensures that readers know the
 list begins earlier. Some combination of the asterisked
 elements in the phrase "*(continued from previous page) In
 addition,* users shall:" works well in most cases.

 3. Watch the parallelism. Don't mix "do this" and "don't do
 that" in the same list, unless you use a warning box of
 some sort (e.g., an icon followed by the explanation) to
 alert the reader that you're changing from a do to a don't.

 A few other gotchas that other folks will probably point
 out, but the overall technique works.

 --Geoff Hart    @8^{)}
 geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca

 Disclaimer: If I didn't commit it in print in one of our
 reports, it don't represent FERIC's opinion.