RE:

Subject: RE:
From: "Leonard C. Porrello" <Leonard -dot- Porrello -at- SoleraTec -dot- com>
To: "David Dorbin" <ddorbin -at- yahoo -dot- com>, "techwr-l mailinglist" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
Date: Thu, 23 Apr 2009 12:17:04 -0700

And then there is the poorly placed "only".

So, if you are truly attached to the style (perhaps you are working on a
19th century Sewing Machine manual?), try this instead: "This process
need be followed only in case of driver failure."

Leonard


-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+leonard -dot- porrello=soleratec -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
[mailto:techwr-l-bounces+leonard -dot- porrello=soleratec -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- c
om] On Behalf Of David Dorbin
Sent: Thursday, April 23, 2009 11:51 AM
To: techwr-l mailinglist
Subject: Re:

It's the subjunctive, and it's not considered archaic yet.

However it's wrongly used in that sentence and that's one reason it
sounds awk.
Change "to be" to "be":

"This process need only be followed in case of driver failure."

Again, not yet archaic (at least not in the arc of my experience of our
language). But it's not how we write, we tech writers.
This is how I would write it:

"If a driver fails, follow this process:"

Or better yet:
"If a driver fails:
1. Do this.
2. Then do this here.
3. (etc.)




________________________________
From: Suzette Leeming <suzette -dot- leeming -at- gmail -dot- com>
To: Bruce Megan (ST-CO/ENG2.2) <Megan -dot- Bruce -at- us -dot- bosch -dot- com>
Cc: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Sent: Thursday, April 23, 2009 2:36:36 PM
Subject: Re:

I would say "This process only needs to be followed in cases of hard
drive
failure". The way it's worded sounds awkward.

Suzette Leeming
Stouffville, Ontario



On Thu, Apr 23, 2009 at 2:34 PM, Bruce Megan (ST-CO/ENG2.2) <
Megan -dot- Bruce -at- us -dot- bosch -dot- com> wrote:

> Hello all,
> Just wanted to check the "correctness" of the following sentence. I
know
> I've seen people use this type of wording...but it seems a bit archaic
> to me...
> SENTENCE: This process need only to be followed in case of drive
> failure.
> The words I question are "need only to be"
> Suggestions? Comments?
>
> Thanks Meg
>
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>
> ComponentOne Doc-To-Help 2009 is your all-in-one authoring and
publishing
> solution. Author in Doc-To-Help's XML-based editor, Microsoft Word or
> HTML and publish to the Web, Help systems or printed manuals.
> http://www.doctohelp.com
>
> Help & Manual 5: The complete help authoring tool for individual
> authors and teams. Professional power, intuitive interface. Write
> once, publish to 8 formats. Multi-user authoring and version control!
> http://www.helpandmanual.com/
>
> ---
> You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as suzette -dot- leeming -at- gmail -dot- com -dot-
>
> To unsubscribe send a blank email to
> techwr-l-unsubscribe -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
> or visit
>
http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/options/techwr-l/suzette.leeming%40gma
il.com
>
>
> To subscribe, send a blank email to techwr-l-join -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
>
> Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- Visit
> http://www.techwr-l.com/ for more resources and info.
>
> Please move off-topic discussions to the Chat list, at:
> http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/listinfo/techwr-l-chat
>
>
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

ComponentOne Doc-To-Help 2009 is your all-in-one authoring and
publishing
solution. Author in Doc-To-Help's XML-based editor, Microsoft Word or
HTML and publish to the Web, Help systems or printed manuals.
http://www.doctohelp.com

Help & Manual 5: The complete help authoring tool for individual
authors and teams. Professional power, intuitive interface. Write
once, publish to 8 formats. Multi-user authoring and version control!
http://www.helpandmanual.com/

---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as ddorbin -at- yahoo -dot- com -dot-

To unsubscribe send a blank email to
techwr-l-unsubscribe -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
or visit
http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/options/techwr-l/ddorbin%40yahoo.com


To subscribe, send a blank email to techwr-l-join -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com

Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- Visit
http://www.techwr-l.com/ for more resources and info.

Please move off-topic discussions to the Chat list, at:
http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/listinfo/techwr-l-chat



^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

ComponentOne Doc-To-Help 2009 is your all-in-one authoring and
publishing
solution. Author in Doc-To-Help's XML-based editor, Microsoft Word or
HTML and publish to the Web, Help systems or printed manuals.
http://www.doctohelp.com

Help & Manual 5: The complete help authoring tool for individual
authors and teams. Professional power, intuitive interface. Write
once, publish to 8 formats. Multi-user authoring and version control!
http://www.helpandmanual.com/

---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as
Leonard -dot- Porrello -at- soleratec -dot- com -dot-

To unsubscribe send a blank email to
techwr-l-unsubscribe -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
or visit
http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/options/techwr-l/leonard.porrello%40so
leratec.com


To subscribe, send a blank email to techwr-l-join -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com

Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- Visit
http://www.techwr-l.com/ for more resources and info.

Please move off-topic discussions to the Chat list, at:
http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/listinfo/techwr-l-chat

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

ComponentOne Doc-To-Help 2009 is your all-in-one authoring and publishing
solution. Author in Doc-To-Help's XML-based editor, Microsoft Word or
HTML and publish to the Web, Help systems or printed manuals.
http://www.doctohelp.com

Help & Manual 5: The complete help authoring tool for individual
authors and teams. Professional power, intuitive interface. Write
once, publish to 8 formats. Multi-user authoring and version control! http://www.helpandmanual.com/

---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- web -dot- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-

To unsubscribe send a blank email to
techwr-l-unsubscribe -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
or visit http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/options/techwr-l/archive%40web.techwr-l.com


To subscribe, send a blank email to techwr-l-join -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com

Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- Visit
http://www.techwr-l.com/ for more resources and info.

Please move off-topic discussions to the Chat list, at:
http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/listinfo/techwr-l-chat


References:
[no subject]: From: Bruce Megan (ST-CO/ENG2.2)
Re:: From: Suzette Leeming
Re:: From: David Dorbin

Previous by Author: RE: Technical Writing Certificate
Next by Author: telecommuting - advice needed
Previous by Thread: Re:
Next by Thread: Re:


What this post helpful? Share it with friends and colleagues:


Sponsored Ads