Kara has written about avoiding noun strings before, but I’m mentioning it again because it is a common problem in technical writing. Stringing nouns together can make your writing unclear and confuse readers.
Also, the JHA Style Guide for Technical Communication and Training(Plain English Standards) has a standard for noun strings:
| Guideline | Example |
| Break up noun clusters that have more than three nouns. | Not this: The Work with Warehouse Selection Company ID field.
But this: The Company ID field on the Work with Warehouse Selection option. |
You can avoid noun strings by including prepositions and articles or by changing some of the nouns to adjectives or verbs.
Here are some more examples:
Original:
Use the input message destination transaction code as shown in the example.
Revision:
Use the transaction code for the destination of an input message as shown in the example.
Original:
Please schedule a meeting to discuss employee compensation level evaluation procedures.
Revision:
Please schedule a meeting to discuss procedures for evaluating the compensation level of employees.
Jackie Solano | Technical Editor | Symitar®
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Symitar Documentation Services
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