Lecture No. 4

Language and Style

Topics to be covered

Write sentences using the active and passive voice Adjust sentence length Eliminate single and double negatives Write using a neutral tone Double the final consonant correctly when adding a suffix Use negative prefixes correctly Use of a/an/and correctly

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Importance of Communication (Views of Different peoples)

Hoyt Hudson, vice president of an ISP (internet service provider) in Chicago." Someone who can come with precise communication has a real advantage in today’s environment”

Pete McGarahan, executive director of the help desk institute, in San Franciso, says “One of the best investments of his career was hiring a trainer to teach business writing for IT professionals.”

Kevin Jetton, Executive vice President of the Association of Information Technology Professionals (AITP) says “You can have the greatest technical skills in the world, but with solid communication skills, who will know and can understand each and every thing with a very short span of time”

WritingLanguage and Style

The language and style of writing use for technical communication depends on the Audience

The background Need Purpose of the people who will read

information.Suggestion for Good writer:– choose the most effective terms.– Keep in mind the understanding level of audience– writing style and organization should be user friendly– Just keep it short and simple

Language and Style

In this section we focuses on four factors

Sentence lengthVoice Negatives Tone

Factors to be Considered

Active voice

&

Passive Voice

In speaking, you can vary( Change the pitch) your voice and tone to communicate a message more effectively.

For example, Speaking slowly and clearly with strong voice adds authority to

message. Speaking in lively voice with changes in pitch and inflection can

make message more interesting.

the same case when we consider writingIn writing just like speaking we also have different voices.

The most common voices are following

Active voice Passive voice

The main emphasize is the fact that the subject of the sentences does some-thing.

It directs attention to the subject“The teacher places the book on the table.”

………..The emphasis on the teacher and what he did.

There is no confusion about who put the book on the table.

Active Voice

The passive voice emphasizes the idea that the subject is acted upon.

It directs attention away from the person or thing doing the action, and focuses on the thing that was acted upon“The book was placed on the table”

see the sentence carefullyNow the emphasis is on the book, not who placed (moved) it. And helping verb ‘was’ is used.

Passive Voice

Consider the following sentences, and decide which message sounds stronger. Communication skills can be improved by

taking college writing classes. Take college writing classes to improve your

communication skills.

The first sentence is weaker due to the indirect language and passive voice. The second sentence, using the active voice, has a clearer message with stronger tone.

Comparison

Technical communication can be full of ideas and facts, Shorter sentences are usually easier to understand than

long,complicated sentences.Sentences over 25 words are too long for the most

readers to understand

Compare the following sentences: The bird flew into the yard. The cat was waiting.

The cat was in the shadow. The tree had the shadow.

when the bird flew into the yard, the cat was waiting in the tree’s shadow.

Sentence Length

How to write good

sentences?

A document with sentences that are similar in length and structure sounds dull.

Variety in sentence length and construction makes the message more interesting.

Technical writers must pay close attention to sentence length for understandability and interest.

Understanding negative sentence is difficult. People often mis-read or fail to see the negative words,

– such as • not,

negative prefix, such as • non or do not.

See the sentences carefully “do not remove the battery before turning off the Mobile.”

if possible, rephrase the sentence to avoid negative sentence instruction.

“Turn off the Mobile before removing the battery.”

Negatives

“Tone is attitude which tells that the writer is positive, negative, or neutral”

or in other words you can say that.“Emotions of writer are expressed in

words.”Tone can be casual or formal. It can be positive, negative or neutral. Writers set the tone of their documents by the words they use.

Tone

Formal English creates a formal tone. Informal English, using slang or

abbreviated words sets a casual tone. Sarcastic or angry words set a negative

tone. Neutral words set a businesslike tone, free

of emotion or manipulation.

The words (a, an & and) are often misused. Some times this happens because the writer is not sure to use a or an.

Other times writer means to say and, but forgets to add the final d. These three words not interchangeable.

Vowels: Vowels are the letters a,e,i,o,u. before that u will use :an”.

Consonants: All other letter then Vowels are consonants.

Word Watch(Use of a, an & and)

Use “A” before Consonants," An” before Vowels and “And” is use for conjunction of two sentence

Rules:Use a in front of a word beginning with a

Consonant sound.Use an in front of a word beginning with a

Vowel sound.Use and to join words.

Use of A, An & And

Assignment………No 1.

How many vowels are in actual other than normal?

What are the articles? Make 20 different sentences with the use of

vowels , consonants & articles?

Total Marks 30

Submission Date 21-10-2008.