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So now passive is preferred? :)
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I was about to say that I don't think that is what he meant when he said
that he prefers "displayed... ." But now I realize that I cannot possibly
know what John was trying to say. The only thing I can say is that ...
No, passive is not preferred. However we all know that it is okay to use
passive voice on an infrequent basis, depending on the context. In this
case, you are letting a user know that something will be on his monitor
screen after he performs an action. Whatever that something is, we all
determine whether the audience we are writing to would need to get the
warm-fuzzy feeling by seeing that whatever the manual says will be there, is
what is on their own screens.
I am currently working on a series of "guides" for developers that provide
information on a system that their APIs will have to access and use. Since
the system they have to activate is totally alien to them (as well as
slightly archaic), it is extremely helpful (and was actually requested by
them) to have the information regarding the "what to expect."
Having said that, I usually present it like this...
Click Blah.
The blah-blah displays.
Some writers like it, some don't.
FWIW,
Kathi Jan DeGuzman
Senior Technical Writer
Kathi -dot- Deguzman -at- nextel -dot- com <mailto:Kathi -dot- Deguzman -at- nextel -dot- com>
When I hear somebody sigh that "Life is hard," I am always tempted to ask,
"Compared to what?" ~ Sidney J. Harris
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