Assign a Shortcut to a Style Applying styles to format text keeps formatting consistent and prevents file corruption unlike formatting “manually” using the icons in the ‘Home’ tab. This means opening the style pane, finding the style, then applying it. There is the option of using the style gallery in the ‘Home’ tab, but that…
Is it time to improve your technical writing skills? The talent can be used for a variety of different purposes, including writing employee handbooks, procedures for work and safety, equipment manuals, and more. However, learning to write well does tend to be a bit more difficult than many people realize. If you want to brush…
Do I ALWAYS have to write in active voice? No, you don’t! Although writing in active voice is generally preferable, sometimes passive voice is the better choice, or maybe even the only choice. When you write in active voice, the subject of the sentence accomplishes the action: The technician checked the equipment for leaks. The…
Choose your placement of the word ‘only’ very carefully; its placement can change the meaning of your sentence. The word ‘only’ should be placed immediately before the word or phrase it modifies. Examples: Only Meg said that she was hungry. Meaning: Meg alone said that she was hungry. Meg only said that she was hungry.…
Most technical documents are formatted so that they are either left-justified (with the left margin aligned and the right margin ‘ragged’) or full-justified (when both margins are aligned). Although full-justified margins may appear to look more professional, they also require unequal spacing between the words so that the margins can match up. This sometimes gives…
We see it often in letters, emails, texts, tweets, memos, and notes. This mark is appealing because it helps save character space and looks casual, but how does it fit in formal writing? The Associated Press Stylebook advises using the ampersand when it is part of a company’s formal name or composition title: Barnes &…
What is the difference between preventive and preventative? Is one preferred over the other? According to Paul Brians’ Common Errors in English Usage, the two words are interchangeable, although some people prefer ‘preventive’ because it is shorter. Bill Bryson, author of Bryson’s Dictionary of Troublesome Words: A Writer’s Guide to Getting it Right, agrees. “Preventative…
Which word is correct: toward or towards? Here’s the scoop: toward and towards can be used interchangeably. Technically, they mean the same thing, and it is correct to use either of them. The reason that we may prefer one over the other is simple: it depends on whether you are from the US, Great Britain,…
If you are a native speaker of English, you probably take a lot of things for granted—such as the order in which you write adjectives that describe nouns. English as a Second Language (ESL) writers, however, may have trouble with it. Native English speakers/writers have lots of experience hearing the flow and rhythm of the…
When you are talking about discussing something in great detail, do you want ‘indepth’ or ‘in depth’? The word you want is ‘in depth.’ Just like the term ‘a lot,’ in depth is often mistaken to be one word—but don’t make that mistake! If you want to use the term ‘in depth’ as an adjective describing…