Good Style

This book explains the tactics you can use to write technical material - ranging from reports to manuals - in a coherent, readable style. The author discusses in detail choices of vocabulary, phrasing and sentence structure.

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.

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