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Subject:3rd person vs. 2nd person From:"Janis Hill" <Janis_Hill -at- WFSFinancial -dot- com> To:techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com Date:Mon, 25 Oct 1999 15:01:07 -0700
> > I work at a financial company writing and updating a policy and procedure manual. Currently, the manuals in our department are written in third person because various audiences are addressed throughout each manual. Using second person with more than one audience may cause confusion as to who is being addressed in a given piece of writing.
> >
> > However, I don't like addressing my audience in third person because the readers may slip into a less involved role. How do I write in second person while making it clear who my audience is in a given piece of writing?
> >
> > I am using the HTML edition of RoboHelp to publish my manual. Each book addresses a specific audience with the exception that one book includes information that is general for all audiences. My thought is to include a flag at the beginning of each topic that would state the intended audience (s). Then I could freely write in second person.
> >
> > What are your thoughts on this issue??
> >
> > Janis Hill
