Category: Precision In Writing - words by kurt

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Tip #165: Remember the main tenet about using tenant

4/13/2017

Recently we’ve been aboard the precision-of-language train because it takes us to more effective technical writing. Three weeks ago we considered precision of language as exemplified in the correct use of the word affinity. Two weeks ago we distinguished the words defective and deficient. Last week we discussed attribute and contribute. This week we consider two words with the same pronunciation but different spellings and even more different meanings — tenant and tenet.

In addition to sharing the same pronunciation, tenant and tenet are both nouns. However, their meanings differ greatly. A tenant is someone who occupies a property which belongs to someone else. However, a tenet is a central principle or belief.

Consider the example sentence in the cropped sentence above. Clearly the writer intended to use a different word. But not knowing (or not remembering) the difference between spoken English and written English, the writer selected the wrong spelling. It’s an easy enough mistake; both words sound the same. But they don’t mean the same, so let’s make a revision:

The concept of equilibrium exemplifies a tenet in the study of mechanics as well as the natural universe.

Remember the main tenet about using tenant — don’t write like you speak when writing for technical audiences! Spoken English and written English have important differences. Respecting those differences in your technical writing by employing precision of language will provide greater clarity to your audiences. Greater clarity better communicates your message. And that more effective presentation will in turn more effectively promote you and your brands in the minds of your audience.

Tip #164: Make sure you contribute the right attribute

4/6/2017

Lately we’ve been discussing precision of language. That’s because the right word can make all the difference between producing a more effective presentation and a less effective one. Two weeks ago we examined precision of language as exemplified in the correct use of the word affinity. Last week we considered the words defective and deficient. This week we discuss attribute and contribute.

Attribute can be either a verb or a noun. To help distinguish between the two usages, the pronunciation places the accent on a different syllable. When the accent is placed on the first syllable, attribute is a noun which means a quality or characteristic. When the accent is placed on the second syllable, attribute is a verb which means to indicate a cause or source. Conversely, contribute is a verb which means to give or offer.

It may seem silly to make these distinctions. Using contribute where you should use attribute just seems wrong, especially when you read the sentence out loud. Yet some writers have mistaken these two words, using one when the other was intended. Even more writers have confused the two forms of attribute. They used the noun when the verb should have been used, and vice versa.

So make sure you contribute the right attribute to your technical writing. Precision of language will help you craft a more effective message to your audience. And that leaves them with a more effective representation of both you and your brands.

Tip #163: Don’t be defective is using deficient

3/30/2017

More effective writing employs precision of language. That’s because using the right word can make all the difference in conveying the right meaning and producing a more effective presentation. Last week we discussed precision of language as exemplified in the correct use of the word affinity. This week we employ a different example: the words defective and deficient.

The words defective and deficient both share the same grammatical function; they’re both adjectives. However, these words have related but different meanings. Defective means faulty, but deficient means lacking something necessary.

Consider the example sentence in the cropped graphic above. Here the writer intends to communicate that the alloy has less of a constituent than expected. The alloy is therefore deficient (missing some ingredient) and not defective (faulty).

The alloy was deficient in vanadium; spectrographic analysis showed a vanadium content of 0.5%.

One could argue that because the alloy is deficient in an important element (vanadium is often added for desirable strength and corrosion-resistant properties), the alloy is defective. But that is not the intention of the writer here. If it were, we would see mention of some performance standard which the alloy failed to meet. Since the alloy has a lower-than-anticipated vanadium content, it very well may fail to meet some performance standard. But the example sentence contains a content standard, not a performance one.

Don’t be defective in using deficient. Use the right word to employ precision of language in your writing. You’ll produce more effective presentations of your message. And that in turn will better represent both you and your brands in the minds of your audience.

Tip #162: Develop the ability to use affinity effectively

3/23/2017

Precision of language has returned again and again as a persistent theme in this blog because it comprises an important aspect of more effective writing. Every more effective writer knows using the right word can make all the difference in conveying the right meaning. And that can produce a more effective presentation.

The word affinity provides a good example. Affinity means a close relationship based on a common origin or structure as well as the tendency of a substance to combine with another. Note that the common idea here is one of relation. That’s because affinity comes from the Latin word afinis, which means related.

Some more informal fields of writing may accept using affinity to mean ability or aptitude. However, more effective technical writing will employ precision of language and simply use these words when those meanings are intended.

Consider the example sentence in the cropped graphic above. Clearly the writer did not intend to suggest that the design shares a common origin or structure with its environment or that the design is attracted to its environment and somehow motivated to combine with it. The writer uses affinity to mean ability, which use is less effective for technical writing. Revising that sentence into something more effective is easy. Just use the word with the intended meaning.

The success of the latest design in this environment rests with the ability of our new proprietary alloy to withstand stress corrosion cracking.

Don’t follow the less effective example. Develop the ability to use affinity effectively and employ precision of language in your writing. You’ll produce more effective presentations of your message to your audience. And that in turn will better represent both you and your brands to that audience.

Tip #156: Don’t be an average writer

2/9/2017

Precision of language comprises a key difference between more effective writers and average ones. That’s why we’ve repeatedly addressed different specific instances of precision of language in this forum. Today we’re going to examine another such instance involving the word average.

An average is a quantity derived by dividing the sum of two or more individual quantities by the number of quantities. The word appears as a noun, a verb, and an adjective. Most of the confusion less effective writers have involves its use as a verb.

Consider the example sentence in the cropped graphic above. A more effective writer understands that an average by definition requires more than one unit or element. Furthermore, each individual steel bar has its own length, which may or may not be the average length. Thus, a more effective writer would employ precision of language to revise the example sentence.

The fifty steel bars in the lot average 205 cm in length.

Technically, the concept of average does not recommend using the word as a verb. Its now common use in spoken English has proliferated that application widely. However, as we’ve often seen in this forum, spoken English and written English are not the same animal.

Precision of language separates the more effective writers from the less effective average ones. So don’t be an average writer! Understand the proper use of average, and you can present your messages in writing more effectively. That in turn will improve the estimation your audience gives to both you and your brands.

Tip #155: You’ll likely write better when you understand libel and liable

2/2/2017

Recently we’ve been riding the precision of language train. Three weeks ago we examined the correct use of the construction both . . . and. Two weeks ago we reviewed the difference between figuratively and literally, two words that many writers confuse. Last week we resolved the confusion many writers have between insoluble and unsolvable. This week, we’ll look at three additional words that many writers confuse — libel, liable, and likely.

The word among these three that connects with the other two is liable, which means responsible by law, legally answerable, and subject by law to. The word has a clear connotation of the law and legal matters. Yet when expressing in speech the idea of probability of occurrence, many use the word as a substitute for likely, even if no connotation of the law is intended.

Precise writers will use likely to express conditions of probability and liable to express subjugation to the law. Thus, these writers would revise the sentence in the cropped graphic above to read as follows:

Such service conditions make the casing likely to corrode.

Many writers confuse not only liable and likely but also liable and libel. Thus they use libel, which is anything distributed visually (writing or pictures) that damages someone’s reputation, when they really intend to convey the meaning of likely.

You’ll likely write better when you understand libel and liable. Using that precision of language promotes your own reputation as a more effective writer who can present desired messages to your audience more effectively. And that more effectively represents both you and your brands to that same audience.

Tip #154: Knowing when to use insoluble is not unsolvable

1/26/2017

Precision of language produces more effective technical writing. Recently we’ve been examining some specific instances of this concept. Three weeks ago we considered the difference between datum and data. Two weeks ago we learned the proper use of the construction both . . . and. Last week we examined the difference between figuratively and literally, two words that many writers confuse. This week we’ll consider two other words that many writers confuse — insoluble and unsolvable.

Insoluble means incapable of being dissolved. Unsolvable means impossible to solve. Less careful writers use these words interchangeably. However, the definitions of these two words make very clear that insoluble and unsolvable are not interchangeable.

Consider the example sentence in the cropped graphic above. By using insoluble, the writer communicates that the production problem is unable to dissolve in something. But problems don’t dissolve into anything; they don’t dissolve at all. Unsolvable is the better word choice.

The production problem remained unsolvable until yesterday when a line worker recognized a solution.

By using more precise language, writers can avoid possible confusion and communicate their messages more clearly.

Knowing when to use insoluble is not unsolvable. Understand the difference in definition, and you will know which word will more clearly communicate your meaning. That greater precision in language will increase the effectiveness of your writing. And that will in turn make a better presentation of both you and your brands to your audience.

Tip #153: Literally understand what figuratively means

1/19/2017

Lately we’ve been discussing the importance of precision in language within technical writing. Two weeks ago we learned the difference between datum and data. Last week we examined the construction both . . . and. This week we’ll continue our trek into precision of language by reviewing the difference between figuratively and literally. (And yes, we will do this literally, not figuratively!)

Figuratively means metaphorically or allegorically. Literally means really, actually, or in a literal manner or sense. Some writers confuse these two words, using them interchangeably. However, the definitions of these two words make very clear that figuratively and literally represent mutually exclusive concepts. They are not interchangeable.

Consider the example sentence in the cropped graphic above. Adding the word figuratively would clarify the true meaning of this sentence.

The factory workers were figuratively on fire.

One would not use the word literally instead of figuratively in this instance, because that would confirm that the factory workers were aflame and burning. In addition, more effective technical writers would not use the idiom on fire, which is informal language and as such has no place in more effective technical writing. Here’s one possible replacement:

The factory workers set a new production record.

By using more formal and precise language, writers can avoid the use of figuratively altogether.

Literally understand what figuratively means, and you can produce more effective technical writing through greater precision in language. More effective writing means a better presentation, and that will create a better impression of you and your brands in the minds of your audience.

Tip #152: Parallel structures balance both grammar and logic

1/12/2017

Last week we discussed precision of language in using the words datum and data. This week we’ll stay on that precision of language train by examining the construction both . . . and.

Using both . . . and introduces a parallel structure into a sentence. That means that this construction is most effective when whatever follows both matches whatever follows and in both grammar and logic. (See how I worked that in there?)

To illustrate, let’s examine the example sentence in the cropped graphic above. At first glance, one might not detect any error with the sentence. But the construction is not parallel. Look at the elements that follow each of the key words in the construction. Both is followed by ensuring clarity. And is followed by conciseness. Both of these elements are noun phrases; however, the first contains a gerund (which is a verb form being used as a noun) and the second does not (it is simply a noun).

Technical writers can make this example sentence more effective by matching the elements after each key word in the both . . . and construction. They can either change the first element to match the second or change the second element to match the first.

Mastering technical writing requires both clarity and conciseness.

Mastering technical writing requires both ensuring clarity and maximizing conciseness.

Notice how in each instance the elements after the key words match one another in both grammar and logic. This congruence makes the use of a parallel structure more effective. Greater precision of language makes for more effective technical writing. And that can make more effective presentations that more effectively represent both you and your brands to your audience.

Tip #151: Datum is a part of data

1/5/2017

One of my most frequently addressed topics in this forum is the difference between written and spoken English. That’s because understanding that difference can help you to write more precisely, and greater precision produces more effective technical writing. This week we’ll examine an example that comes to the English language from the Greek. I’m talking about the use of datum and data.

As our world becomes more and more driven by technology, the data underlying that technology becomes a more common part of our world, and hence the word used to describe it also becomes more common. With that ubiquity comes the natural evolution that all languages experience. In this case, the plural noun data has been increasing used as a singular noun. Aiding this evolution is the increasing disuse of the singular noun datum.

Some technical writing gurus may argue that following this evolution is fine, but I’m not one of them. Using data as a singular noun introduces an element of informality into technical writing, much the same way that transcribing spoken English does.

It’s very common in speech to employ informal constructs. But more effective technical writing demands that writers avoid informality. So if you want more effective technical writing, remember that datum is a part of data. More precise language means a better presentation of your message to your audience, and that will leave them with a better impression of both you and your brands.