TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Definitions vs. Glossary From:Alisa Dean <Alisa -dot- Dean -at- MCI -dot- COM> Date:Wed, 4 Dec 1996 11:09:00 -0700
Mike Dean wrote:
>I have a list of terms that apply either to our applications or to
>Windows terms that our users may have a limited understanding of. These
>are appended to my help files. They started life as a list of
>definitions, but it looks more like a glossary to me now.
>The apps are medical transcription software and administrative system
>tools.
>Any input on what this should be called? I lean to Glossary. Unable to
>find any specific definition of the difference, just have a gut
>feeling. Could someone define (gloss) these?
In my current template, I had a Glossary section with subheadings of
Acronyms and Terms. After much discussion with my fellow TWs, we decided
that it was unnecessary and potentially incorrect to do so (one discussion
was centered around the difference between an acronym and an abbreviation).
So we combined the entire section under the heading Terminology. Under
this, we have a two column table that has the term, acronym, or abbreviation
in the first column, and its corresponding definition in the second
column. The table is sorted by the first column.
I think it made a cleaner look on the page. Hope this helps.
Alisa Dean
Sr. Technical Writer
alisa -dot- dean -at- mci -dot- com
