COMPUTER SYSTEMS RESEARCH
Elements of Technical Writing
2005-2006
Good technical writing is concise
- Your readers are probably extremely busy. "Concise technical writing is easier and less time consuming
to read than wordy technical writing."
- "Deleting the wordiness and repetition is hard work - and working at writing is something most technical
professionals want to avoid."
- Blaise Pascal: "I have made this a long letter because I haven't the time to make it shorter."
- "By avoiding udesirable repetition, wordy phrases, rambling explanations, pompous language, and jargon,
you can produce succinct, readable prose without sacrificing technical content."
- "Your words and phrases should be precise, your composition well organized and to the point."