Nick's Guide to Great Writing! | This page ©2001 by nicholasemiller |
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| Main topic: | Sub-topic: | Other notes on
class or type: | Level of difficulty
1 elementary
5 intermediate
9 advanced |
| Defining technical and foreign terms | ...
| . | 3 - 7 |
| Explanation and discussion: |
Many times in writing we use words or phrases that other people may not understand. These include - technical words
- foreign words
- company lingo
In order to make sure we are understood, it is very important to communicate to the reader what we actually mean. We can do this by defining the terms that may be misunderstood. There are various ways of doing this, as well as several things to avoid.See below for examples.
| | Example(s): |
Good ways
- A daikon is a type of Japanese radish, it is white and about 50 cm long.
- A modem, or device to connect a computer to the telephone line, is included with all computers these days.
- GE places much emphasis on CTQs (or those things Critical-To-Quality measurements important to customers).
Things to avoid
Do not use circular definitions: - An English teacher is someone who teaches English
- Better: An English teacher is someone who helps students learn to use the English language.
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Do not use negative definitions, if possible: - Work time is any time that is not leisure time.
- Better: Work time is the time spent in productive efforts, be it for pay or for oneself, as contrasted with leisure time, which is for recreation.
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