technical-writing

Rules

• Use one name for one thing. Do not call the same item by two different names.
• Use the short common word: start (not begin/commence/initiate), use (not utilize/leverage), help (not facilitate), make sure (not ensure), before (not prior to), after (not subsequent to), about (not regarding/concerning), get (not obtain/acquire), show (not demonstrate), also (not additionally/furthermore/moreover).
• Give each word one meaning. "fall" means to move down, not to decrease.
• No marketing adjectives: seamless, robust, powerful, cutting-edge, effortless, world-class, next-generation, revolutionary.
• American spelling.

• Active voice. "the parser reads the file", not "the file is read by the parser".
• Use a verb for an action. "analyze the log", not "perform an analysis of the log".
• No stacked auxiliaries. Not "it is important to note that this may help to improve". Write "this improves X".
• No "-ing" main verb where a simple tense works.

• One instruction per sentence. Max 20 words (instruction), max 25 (descriptive).
• No contractions. Use articles: a, an, the, this, these.

• No semicolons. Write two sentences. STE bans the semicolon, not the em dash.

• One topic per paragraph, max six sentences. For steps, use a numbered vertical list, one action per item, imperative form. Put a condition before its command.