Editor's Corner

Parallelism refers to using similar grammatical constructions to balance your bullet points and the phrases in your sentences. Using parallel structure in your writing helps increase clarity and readability.

Parallelism in Bulleted Lists:

When creating a bulleted or numbered list, you should structure all of the bullet points the same way. If one bullet point in the list starts with a verb (an action word) or an article (a, an, the), you should start them all similarly. Bulleted lists should be composed of all complete sentences (with punctuation), or they should all be sentence fragments (without punctuation).

We have an additional new rule from JHA Style Guide for Technical Communication and Training, which states that each bullet that completes the introductory sentence should end with a period (this is not true for slide shows). For example:

Before you submit a document for editing, you should:

· Read it carefully and look for mistakes.

· Ask someone to peer review your document.

· Run spell check.

Parallelism in a Sentence:

When writing a sentence that includes a series or related phrases, you should make sure to structure the phrases similarly.

· Non-parallelism

To use NTMC home banking, a member must connect to the Internet, go to your credit union’s home page, and should select a link to NTMC home banking from your website.

Notice that in the example above, the writer switches from third person (a member) to second person (you). The writer has also written the three tasks so that they are not parallel (a member must connect to…, go to your…, and should select…)

· Parallelism

To use NTMC home banking, a member must connect to the Internet, go to the credit union’s home page, and select a link to NTMC home banking from your website.

Thank you,

Jackie Solano

Technical Writer, Episys Technical Publications

Symitar®

8985 Balboa Avenue

San Diego, California 92123

Direct Line: 619-542-6711

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I’m feeling very Grinchy today: small-hearted, green, and a bit furry. Here is something I would like to call your attention to. Whether you are talking about installing sprinklers, software, or a rotating bed, the infinitive of the verb is to install.

For example:

· He is installing solar-powered lights on the roof.

· I would install a frozen yogurt machine in my dream house.

The noun associated with this verb is a word all its own: installation.

For example:

· You can see the latest installation of Christo’s art along the Arkansas River.

· We provide an installation guide with each product, which will help you install the necessary software.

Sad editors: The install is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. on Saturday.

Happy editors: The installation is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. on Saturday.

Kara Church

Technical Editor, Advisory

619-542-6773 | Ext: 766773

www.symitar.com

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Here are the guidelines for trademark usage from the Jack Henry & Associates’ Corporate List of Products document.

· Product and service names (Marks) must be used exactly as listed in the Jack Henry & Associates’ Corporate List of Products and Services document, including the appropriate symbol (®, TM, or SM), upon first reference of the Mark on every JHA website page and in every bound JHA document.

· If the document can be disassembled, such as loose-leaf pages in a binder, the symbol MUST be used with the first reference of the Mark on each page.

· You can omit the symbols from the Mark in subsequent uses on the same page, document, or website page, as applicable, but the Mark must otherwise appear exactly as listed in the Jack Henry & Associates’ Corporate List of Products and Services document.

Thank you,

Jackie Solano

Technical Writer, Episys Technical Publications

Symitar®

8985 Balboa Avenue

San Diego, California 92123

Direct Line: 619-542-6711

NOTICE: This electronic mail message and any files transmitted with it are intended
exclusively for the individual or entity to which it is addressed. The message,
together with any attachment, may contain confidential and/or privileged information.
Any unauthorized review, use, printing, saving, copying, disclosure or distribution
is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please
immediately advise the sender by reply email and delete all copies.

Good morning!

The discussion of the overuse and misuse of the word “literally” has come up before here at Editor’s Corner. It is also the topic of newspaper articles, blogs, and even TV discussions. Here is yet another comment on the topic—from the cutting wit of Charles Harrington Elster, in his book What in the Word?

Q. Consider the word literally in a sentence like this: “His jokes literally kill me.” To avoid a rather grim interpretation, shouldn’t it be “his jokes figuratively kill me”?

A. Although I might snicker silently to hear someone say “His jokes literally kill me”—or if I was feeling especially petulant, I might say “Congratulations on your resurrection”—I would laugh out loud if I ever heard someone say “His jokes figuratively kill me.” It would be so ridiculously self-conscious and pedantic. The solution, of course, it to eliminate literally. Most of the time the word is superfluous, anyway, and it’s easily replaced with another adverb if such hyperbolic emphasis can’t be resisted.

And on the same topic, from XKCD:

Kara Church

Technical Editor, Advisory

619-542-6773 | Ext: 766773

www.symitar.com

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A common battle exists among different communicators at our company and others. It is the battle of the creative staff, business professionals, and product experts—against us technical writers and editors. Maybe battle is the wrong word. We just have different audiences and different goals in our communication, and one of the times that becomes difficult is when jargon is involved.

The other day I attended a webinar about introverts and extroverts. Several times, the presenter referred to an individual’s personality as their “personal branding.” After barfing a little, I looked at my coworker and asked, “Did she really just say ‘personal branding’?” Why? Why convolute the message with some new, undefined term? Were we to consider her more of an expert in the field of business psychology? There’s already a word in psychology that perfectly describes the way you present yourself to others: persona.

While jargon generally comes about within a certain field so experts can communicate amongst themselves, when you start throwing it out at a broad audience, it tends to push away the people you desire to communicate with. As the provider of the examples below says, jargon should be used “cautiously, infrequently, and at the right times.” The problem is that it is rarely given deep consideration and that sets technical writers on edge. It is our job to communicate difficult ideas clearly and concisely; not to use fluff or abstract terms to increase the vagaries of something. Each type of communication has its place, I know. But today I am talking about technical documentation, so I won’t be responding to hate letters or rants about the sterility of technical documentation and its lack of flowery imagery.

Here are some excerpts from a Grammarbook.com newsletter on jargon.

Jargon Is No Bargain

Almost a century ago, in 1916, the British author, editor, and literary critic Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch (1863-1944) published On the Art of Writing.The book’s fifth chapter is titled “Interlude: On Jargon.” Quiller-Couch abhorred jargon, a catchall term for pompous, bloated, clumsy, hackneyed, or impenetrable writing.

Quiller-Couch, who wrote under the pen name “Q,” extols “the active verb and the concrete noun.” He deplores “dissolving vivid particulars into smooth generalities.” If writers say what they mean in a strong, clear, direct voice, they can avoid the jargon trap. “Jargon is by no means accurate, its method being to walk circumspectly around its target; and its faith, that having done so it has either hit the bull’s-eye or at least achieved something equivalent, and safer.” …

Q disdains words and phrases such as case, instance, nature, condition, persuasion, degree, as regards, with regard to, in respect of, in connection with. “They are all dodges of Jargon, circumlocutions for evading this or that simple statement: and I say that it is not enough to avoid them nine times out of ten, or nine-and-ninety times out of a hundred. You should never use them.”

Jargon diminishes us not just as writers but as human beings: “If your language be Jargon, your intellect, if not your whole character, will almost certainly correspond. Where your mind should go straight, it will dodge: the difficulties it should approach with a fair front and grip with a firm hand it will be seeking to evade or circumvent.” …

“That is Jargon,” says Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch, “and to write Jargon is to be perpetually shuffling around in the fog and cotton-wool of abstract terms.”

And a small selection of business jargon from: http://www.businesstune-ups.com/Business-Jargon.html. This is your invitation to proceed with caution.

Kara Church

Technical Editor, Advisory

619-542-6773 | Ext: 766773

www.symitar.com

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You know what I love about you guys? Yes, you. I love that you are learning and questioning things that you see online, in newspapers, and everywhere else after reading the Editor’s Corner. Of course, the world needs to watch out! There are more than a thousand of you eagle-eyed grammarians and you are making it tougher on the folks out there who aren’t as careful as you.

One of the biggest examples I’ve seen is the number of errant uses of the words complementary and complimentary—and your responses. Since several notices have gone out at JHA with these mix-ups, I’ve been asked by many of you to cover this item again, in hopes to get the word out. Here you go!

Definitions from Merriam-Webster, examples from me.

· complement

1: something that fills up or completes

2: something that fills out and makes perfect: a completing or consummating part, integral, or component

Examples:

o This wine coupled with that cheese is the perfect complement to the meal we just ate.

o JHA has several fantastic core products that can be combined with hundreds of smaller, complementary products to create an unbeatable customized system.

Hint: Complementary with an “e” is about one thing completing another thing to make a perfect whole.

· compliment

1: a formal expression (as by speech, gesture, or ceremony) of esteem, respect, affection, or admiration

2: compliments plural: best wishes: regards <to send her compliments to a friend><a free sample is enclosed with the compliments of the manufacturer>

3: now dialectal: a complimentary gift: gratuity <to make a compliment of a book>

Examples:

o She was always ready with a compliment rather than a complaint: “What a great imagination!” “What a fantastic use of color!” “What an innovative use for popsicle sticks!”

o “Delicious dinner, Kitty,” said Bob. “My compliments to the chef.”

o You get a complimentary stuffed squirrel with every $49.99 you spend on home décor.

Hint: “I like you,” is a compliment. Remember the important letter here is “i”.

For a previous article on complementary and complimentary: https://episystechpubs.com/2013/02/06/editors-corner-c-is-for-calm/

Kara Church

Technical Editor, Advisory

619-542-6773 | Ext: 766773

www.symitar.com

NOTICE: This electronic mail message and any files transmitted with it are intended
exclusively for the individual or entity to which it is addressed. The message,
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is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please
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Please refer to these guidelines from the JHA Style Guide for Technical Communication and Training when using commas.

Thank you,

Jackie Solano

Technical Writer, Episys Technical Publications

Symitar®

8985 Balboa Avenue

San Diego, California 92123

Direct Line: 619-542-6711

Over the past 24 hours, I’ve received tons of email from y’all about a great video from Weird Al Yankovic. I’ve been debating about whether or not I should share it with you. On the plus side, it reviews some common grammar errors with a modern, adult flair—like Schoolhouse Rock for the big kids. On the downside, well, there are references to beating someone with a crowbar, some double entendres that might make the innocent blush, and some insults hurled toward mouth-breathers and droolers. (I don’t like it when people say other people are dumb because they make a mistake now and then. Don’t we all?)

All that said, this video is everywhere and it is educational, so I will provide you with the link to check it out at your discretion. Oh, and even though Weird Al says the Oxford comma is optional, it is required as part of the JHA Style Guide.

The video is called Word Crimes (a parody of Blurred Lines) and you can view it here: http://www.weirdal.com/

Kara Church

Technical Editor, Advisory

619-542-6773 | Ext: 766773

www.symitar.com

NOTICE: This electronic mail message and any files transmitted with it are intended
exclusively for the individual or entity to which it is addressed. The message,
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immediately advise the sender by reply email and delete all copies.

I’m not sure if this issue is more appropriate in a grammar column or in Miss Manners, but since I’ve seen this issue come up quite often in grammar blogs and emails, I’ll pass it along to you. The latest iteration is from the “Lederer on Language” column in the San Diego Union-Tribune. (Thank you to Ron F. for hand-delivering the column to my desk each week!)

Dear Mr. Lederer: What’s happened to our society? I think that when someone says, “Thank you,” the proper response should be “You’re welcome,” But all too often we hear “No problem.” I have a problem with “No problem.” Do you?

— Jim Bried, Poway

It does appear that, after hearing a “Thank you,” hardly anyone these days responds, “You’re welcome.” What we usually hear is “Thank YOU” or “No problem.”

I can understand a “Thank YOU” following a “Thank you.” A radio or TV host concludes an interview with “Thank you,” and the guest, wanting to show appreciation, responds, “Thank YOU!”

But, like Jim Bried, I have a problem with “No problem.” [KC – I wonder how they’d feel about the response, “You betcha!”]

At a restaurant, I ask my server for extra lemon for my tea. When he delivers the lemons, I say, “Thank you” — and he says, “No problem.” I want to grab him by the collar and snarl, “Of course it’s no problem! It’s your job!”

If, on the other hand, someone goes a + b the c of d (alphabetically that stands for “above and beyond the call of duty”), I am more accepting.

I was recently in my book booth at a convention and found that I was short on small bills. A kindly women offered $1 and $5 bills for my larger ones, explaining that she always carries small bills for people who need them. To my “Thank you” she said, “No problem.” That was copacetic with me because she had gone a + b the c of d.

For the remainder of the column, about the pesky phrase “you know,” click here: http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/jul/12/tp-do-you-have-a-problem-you-know-with-no-problem/

Kara Church

Technical Editor, Advisory

619-542-6773 | Ext: 766773

www.symitar.com

NOTICE: This electronic mail message and any files transmitted with it are intended
exclusively for the individual or entity to which it is addressed. The message,
together with any attachment, may contain confidential and/or privileged information.
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is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please
immediately advise the sender by reply email and delete all copies.

“Voice” refers to the relationship between the subject of a sentence and the verb. In a sentence written in active voice, the subject of the sentence performs the action. In a sentence written in passive voice, the subject receives the action. Use active voice whenever possible because it is generally more energetic and clear. There are, however, certain instances when passive voice is acceptable. For example:

• When the subject is unknown or unimportant

• When the action, not the doer, is the focus of the sentence

• In error messages, to avoid giving the impression that the user is to blame

To create an active sentence or to revise a passive sentence: Start the sentence with the subject.

Examples:

• Episys takes the specified payment amount rather than the standard payment amount.

• Type this field value during the Bond Redemption (BR) teller transaction.

(In the example directly above, the subject you is implied.)

Try this fun trick to identify passive voice. If you can insert “by zombies” after the verb, you have passive voice.

Original sentence:

• Changes were made to Episys in this enhancement to remain compliant with government regulations.

Zombie trick:

• Changes were made by zombies to Episys in this enhancement to remain complaint with government regulations.

Active voice:

• Symitar made changes to Episys in this enhancement to remain compliant with government regulations.

Thank you,

Jackie Solano

Technical Writer, Episys Technical Publications

Symitar®

8985 Balboa Avenue

San Diego, California 92123

Direct Line: 619-542-6711