Mary Dash's Writing Tips
plainlanguage.gov
Mary Dash's Writing Tips
1–10 of 74 posts
Re: Mary Dash's Writing Tips
#2I changed the URL from https://plainlanguage.gov/resources/ to the item on the list that has the most information.
Lists tend not to make great HN submissions because there isn't much to discuss beyond the lowest commmon denominator of the items on the list. That leads to generic discussions and specific discussions are better.
https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que...
https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que...
Re: Mary Dash's Writing Tips
#3All of plainlanguage.gov is a treasure trove of good advice on writing -- definitely a site worth exploring!
Re: Mary Dash's Writing Tips
#4When is it best to use formal (bureaucratic) vs informal (conversational) language?
When writing reports and documentation I prefer formal language, but for blogs I switch over to informal.
Re: Mary Dash's Writing Tips
#5Good advice!
Although there are situations were the passive is best, using simpler, more direct words makes the text much clearer.
Re: Mary Dash's Writing Tips
#6When is it best to use formal (bureaucratic) vs informal (conversational) language? When writing reports and documentation I prefer formal language, but for blogs I switch over to informal.
I'm guessing it depends on what your users expect:
https://plainlanguage.gov/guidelines/audience/
IBM has some guidance on this too, as part of their design system:
https://www.carbondesignsystem.com/guidelines/content/genera...
Basically IBM's rule seems to be: there's never a need to be _formal_, but you should be less conversational on specific tasks, and more conversational on high-level docs and marketing material.
Re: Mary Dash's Writing Tips
#7Awesome article!
Re: Mary Dash's Writing Tips
#8[deleted]
Re: Mary Dash's Writing Tips
#9The thing about avoiding passive voice drives me batty- not just here, that admonition is everywhere. Sometimes it's useful, that's why it exists. Using it does not (necessarily) indicate a moral failing.
Re: Mary Dash's Writing Tips
#10When is it best to use formal (bureaucratic) vs informal (conversational) language? When writing reports and documentation I prefer formal language, but for blogs I switch over to informal.
Use formal language when the audience demands it, and never otherwise. Why? Because your audience is human beings, not machines. Write for humans.
Even in reports and documentation, your audience will thank you if you sound like a human. Now, documentation has to be precise, and therefore has to define and use terms precisely. But documentation also contains description, and that description should be written informally when possible.
Edit: Ignore this. ucarion said it better.