Good Style: Writing for Science and Technology

ISBN-13: 9780415345019 / Angielski / Twarda / 2005 / 160 str.

John Kirkman

Opis

Explains the tactics that should be used to write technical material - ranging from reports to manuals - in a coherent, readable style. It discusses in detail choice of vocabulary, phrasing and sentence structure; each piece of advice is supported

Spis treści

1. Style as choice 2. Sentence length and complexity 3. Weight and familiarity of vocabulary 4. Specialist vocabulary: jargon 5. 'Fashionable' words 6. 'Roundabout' and unusual phrasing 7. Excessive pre-modifiers 8. Use of nouns as pre-modifiers 9. Abstraction 10. Excessive 'nominalization' 11. Verbs: tense and voice 12. Verbs: impersonal vs first-person constructions 13. Verbs: impersonal vs second-person constructions 14. Punctuation 15. Tone: in hard copy and in on-screen text 16. Avoiding 'distorted' English in computer-related texts 17. Style for instructions 18. Style for descriptive and explanatory writing 19. Specifications 20. Style for correspondence 21. Writing for international audiences: general policy 22. Writing for international audiences: writing for 'expert' readers 23. Writing for international audiences: writing for students 24. Writing for readers who do not understand English 25. On avoiding ambiguity

O autorze

John Kirkman now works as a consultant specialising in research and training in scientific and technical communication. Previously he was Director of the Communication Studies Unit at the University of Wales, Cardiff.