How to Write IT Texts for the USA: Complex Things Made Simple
Posted: Wed Dec 11, 2024 7:16 am
It is difficult to write IT content without getting bogged down in a meticulous explanation of each term. Especially when it needs to be written in English, taking into account the specifics of the audience.
Victoria Michael, Contentim's editor-in-chief for American English content from St. Louis, Missouri, USA, shared how to write about IT for Americans correctly and simply.
Content
Keep It Simple, Stupid
My first piece of advice is: KISS. No, I'm not asking you to kiss, it's an acronym that stands for Keep It Simple, Stupid . That is, use simple words and the shortest, most understandable phrases. After all, the last thing you want to achieve is to disappoint the reader with abstruse text and complex sentences. Especially if the topic itself is quite difficult to understand.
Imagine yourself in the reader's shoes - you don't understand much israel phone number material about the topic yet, but you want to figure it out. And then long sentences jump out at you from the screen, terms follow one after another. Most likely, you'll want to find another, easier-to-understand source. Let's look at good and bad examples of sentences for IT text.
Here's an overly complicated and jargon-heavy (i.e. bad) example:
Subsequent to the passage of the
subject legislation, it is incumbent upon you to advise your organisation to comply with it.
What?.. What is written here? To understand it, you have to read the sentence, then read it again, and only on the third time - maybe - will the meaning begin to dawn on you. Readers do not forgive this - having seen such a passage once, they will most likely close your article and go looking for something simpler and more understandable.
Here is a good and simple example:
After the
law passes, you must tell your people to comply with it.
See? The meaning hasn't changed, but the sentence has become much simpler and clearer.
So, the first and most important thing you need to keep an eye on when writing technical texts is to look at each sentence and think about what else can be simplified. Of course, this will not work right away. Here, a “fresh eye” will help you - someone who has not yet seen your text and does not understand the topic very well. Show him the text and ask how clear is what you have written. Maybe he will notice a few confusing or information-rich fragments - shorten them.
Don't overdo it with jargon
Victoria Michael, Contentim's editor-in-chief for American English content from St. Louis, Missouri, USA, shared how to write about IT for Americans correctly and simply.
Content
Keep It Simple, Stupid
My first piece of advice is: KISS. No, I'm not asking you to kiss, it's an acronym that stands for Keep It Simple, Stupid . That is, use simple words and the shortest, most understandable phrases. After all, the last thing you want to achieve is to disappoint the reader with abstruse text and complex sentences. Especially if the topic itself is quite difficult to understand.
Imagine yourself in the reader's shoes - you don't understand much israel phone number material about the topic yet, but you want to figure it out. And then long sentences jump out at you from the screen, terms follow one after another. Most likely, you'll want to find another, easier-to-understand source. Let's look at good and bad examples of sentences for IT text.
Here's an overly complicated and jargon-heavy (i.e. bad) example:
Subsequent to the passage of the
subject legislation, it is incumbent upon you to advise your organisation to comply with it.
What?.. What is written here? To understand it, you have to read the sentence, then read it again, and only on the third time - maybe - will the meaning begin to dawn on you. Readers do not forgive this - having seen such a passage once, they will most likely close your article and go looking for something simpler and more understandable.
Here is a good and simple example:
After the
law passes, you must tell your people to comply with it.
See? The meaning hasn't changed, but the sentence has become much simpler and clearer.
So, the first and most important thing you need to keep an eye on when writing technical texts is to look at each sentence and think about what else can be simplified. Of course, this will not work right away. Here, a “fresh eye” will help you - someone who has not yet seen your text and does not understand the topic very well. Show him the text and ask how clear is what you have written. Maybe he will notice a few confusing or information-rich fragments - shorten them.
Don't overdo it with jargon