1. Technical Writing Understood BelievedThats UBER Fantastic Enjoyed Remembered10 Myths, 10 RulesPaul F. StregevskyTechnical Writer,Corporate Communications DivisionDHS Science and TechnologyDirectoratepaul.stregevsky@associates.dhs.gov

2. Myth 1: I was always taught Never use the passive voice! Never use pronouns! Do not use contractions! But which passage is more effective? This? Or this? DO NOT LITTER. If youre caught littering, youll be fined and jailed. Nothing can break The new the new multiband multiband radio radio. Nothing can cant be broken. It hack it. Nothing cant be hacked. It can jam it. cant be jammed.

3. Myth 2: Nothing is wrong with my style. We are all so inclined to think that our own writing is clear that if our readers struggle to understand it, the problem must be not our deep writing but their lazy reading. Joseph M. Williams, Style

4. Myth 3: By writing densely, Ill impress everyone.We listen to cops, firemen, andNo, too plain. Accio Obfuscation!There: Our customer-centric focusMuch better!

5. Myth 4: If I write vividly and clearly, I wont be taken seriously.Deleting an I or a wedoesnt make a scientiststhinking more objective. Weknow that behind thoseimpersonal sentence areflesh-and-blood researchersdoing, thinking, andwriting.Joseph M. Williams, Style

6. Myth 5: My readers have to read what I wrote. But its so BORING! And DENSE! Shad-dup!

7. Myth 6: Clear writing is fine and good, but not for my audience. We are too august to be addressedWhat we write always in the common tongue!seems clearer to us than itdoes to our readers,because we can read into itwhat we want readers toget out of it.Joseph M. Williams, Style

8. Myth 7: Im writing about technology.Fact: Its not about tools. Its about people!

9. The Turbo Encabulator

10. Myth 8: Its my report, to write as I see fit. Tara says: Dont waste my time with gobbledygook. Write everything clearly. No exceptions! Plain Language Act of 2009: Use common, everyday words. Use you and other pronouns. Use the active voice.

11. Myth 9: My chief goal is to inform.Be clear.Be compelling.Be credible.BecauseYour chief goal is to persuade!What really counts, after all,is not what we understand aswe read, but how well weremember it the next day. Joseph M. Williams, Style

12. Myth 10: My readers care only about facts.Clear and graceful Spare me your pronouns,writers are so few, analogies, and metaphors, for I am a DHS stakeholder, withthat when we find no use for the human touch.them, we aredesperately gratefulfor them. They donot go unrewarded.Joseph M. Williams,Style

13. Your technical writing can beUBER Fantastic!Understood Believed Enjoyed Remembered Marc antony eulogizes Julius caesar

14. UBER Rule 1: Keep it human.Instead of this: Write this:The cause of our schools failure at Teachers fail to teach basic skillsteaching basic skills is not understanding because they dont get howthe influence of cultural background on cultural background affects howlearning. kids learn.Personnelpersonnel who need Peoplepeople who needpersonnelare the luckiest personnel peopleare the luckiest peopleWe, the personnel of the United States We, the peoplewill assist the law enforcement community will help police officers (or cops; our men and women in blue)government of the stakeholders, by the government of the people, by thestakeholders, for the stakeholders people, for the people

15. UBER Rule 2: Paint a mental picture.

16. UBER Rule 3: Dont confuse. Write not so that you can be understood, but so that you cannot be misunderstood. Francis Bacon Whatever can be written can usually be written more clearly, with just a bit more effort. Joseph M. Williams, StyleInstead of this: Write this:The camera records imagery. The camera captures a continuous movie or 1 photo every 15 seconds.ROW-B will enable PTT calls on broadband At the push of a button, a citizenmobile devices to connect to Project 25 LMR can use her Blackberry, iPhone, orsystems, allowing LMR users and broad- Droid to talk with responders whoband users to be on the same group call. use radios.

17. UBER Make the doer your subject;Rule 4: make action your verb.Instead of this: Write this:Dear National Management Dear NMA,Association: This member no longer I quit.wishes to maintain his membership.Decisions in regard to administration of When a patient comes to a traumamedication despite inability of an center and behaves so irrationally thatirrational patient appearing in a Trauma he cant legally consent to treatment,Center to provide legal consent rest only the attending physician canwith the attending physician. decide whether to medicate him.An understanding of the causal factors If we understood why some studentsinvolved in excessive drinking by drink too much, we could treat themstudents could lead to more effective more effectively.treatment.

18. UBER If your writing bores you,Rule 5: it will bore your readers.

19. UBER Rule 6:Favor the singular.Instead of this: Write this:Using LED Incapacitators, law Using the LED Incapacitator, aenforcement officers can take police officer can take down adown rioters without injuring them. rioter without injuring him.TechSolutions: Where first TechSolutions: Where a firstresponders with ideas can be responder with an idea can beheard. heard.

20. UBER Lose the PR/Rule 7: Management-speak.Instead of this: Write this:We are committed to engaging our To protect Americans better, werestakeholders to enhance the Nations listening to firefighters, EMTs, cops,security. bomb squadders, and hazmat crews.S&T leadership has instructed Our Under Secretary, Dr. Tara OToole,management to has enjoined each division managerOur customer-focused portfolio has Were finding affordable ways to helpeffectively facilitated a plan to leverage you work, and talk, with your fellowresponders resources, fusing disparate heroes, from fellow agencies, districts,systems at the National, state, regional, and states.local, and Tribal levels.It is a collaborative effort between DHS Weve teamed up with people who write,and the standards community. use, and rely on standards

21. Explaining the benefits of S&Tsairflow tests in the Boston subway With PR-Speak Free of PR-Speak (WCVB News) (WBZ News)

22. UBER Use metadiscourseRule 8: to provide guideposts.Use more qualifiers like this:As we shall see,Ironically,For the most part,However,To put these numbers in perspective,In other words,By comparison,

23. UBER Rule 9: Use pictures liberally. Nuff said.

24. UBER Rule 10: Heed the Golden Rule of Style. We write well when we would willingly experience what our readers do when they read what weve written. That puts the burden on us to imagine our readers and their feelings. Joseph M. Williams, Style Write to others as you would have others write to you. If we dont want others to impose carelessly complex writing on us, then we ought not to impose it on others.

25. Recommended Reading: Style