Why This Way and Not That Way?

By Frederick Menezes

In the course of our jobs as technical communicators, do we ever pause to think why we do things the way we do them?

For instance, why do we always tend to use the active voice in our writing? Is it only because all popular style guides say so? Do we know of a research study or usability test that proves active voice is better than passive voice in technical writing?

Have we ever paused and pondered if, in some cases, passive voice could be better than active voice? I’m not suggesting that passive voice is better in specific cases. It may be or may not be.

What I’m hinting is that we should ask why we do things in a certain way. Do our rules of thumb and guidelines have a theoretical base? Does the available empirical data support our assumptions?

I’m certain that some of our rules of thumb in technical communication border on the mythical. We have ingrained in ourselves some of these rules so much that it could be blasphemous to even consider questioning them! We run the risk of transforming these myths into realities.

We need to pay more attention to the rules or guidelines that we follow. Do they make sense? True, many of them would be valid, but others may need a hard look even though they may contain a few grains of truth. By being skeptical and observant, we should be able to wean away the misleading aspects from the mythical rules. (I would recommend that your read Geoff Hart’s guest editorial in the August 2000 issue of Technical Communication [www.techcomm-online.org]. In the article, Geoff lists what he calls ten technical communication myths).

As I have said on a previous occasion in this column, we need to cultivate a scientific temper within ourselves. We have to perennially question our ways of writing, designing, and delivering technical information.

It is also absolutely essential to be open to learning (and unlearning). We have to keep our eyes and ears open to new findings related to the theory and practice of technical communication. Journals like Technical Communication (STC), Transactions on Professional Communication (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers), and The Journal of Computer Documentation (Association for Computing Machinery) are excellent sources of research-based articles.

And, if we are passionate enough about our profession, we should even attempt to undertake research studies that will help us do our jobs better.

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