Feel free to repeat a word

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When it adds clarity, don’t hesitate to use the same word over again.

Don’t avoid using the same word twice in a sentence or in consecutive sentences because you think that this is poor style. In user assistance, the best style is clarity.

 1  In sentences with and and or, make sure that it’s clear which terms an attribute relates to.

 2  Words such as this, that, they, these, those, it, which, and so on link ideas. Make sure that these pointers point unmistakably to one noun, phrase, or clause so that your sentence isn’t ambiguous. If there’s any possibility of confusion, repeat the noun.

 3  Don’t use awkward constructions like the former … the latter. These constructions aren’t ambiguous, but they’re extremely hard to read. Most readers do remember the statements, but they don’t remember which one came first. So they have to read the whole section again, which wastes their time, makes them feel stupid, and doesn’t contribute to a positive user experience.

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Examples    1 

No:

You need green paper and tape.

(Unclear: Must the tape also be green?)

Yes:

You need green paper and some tape.

or:

You need green paper and green tape.

Examples    2 

No:

She told her colleague that her phone wasn’t working.

(Ambiguous: Whose phone wasn’t working? Her own phone or her colleague’s phone?)

Yes:

She told her colleague that the colleague’s phone wasn’t working.

or:

She told her colleague that her own phone wasn’t working.

No:

You can use the instrument to measure the PH value and the humidity of the soil. Note that this only works if the temperature is above 0 degrees Celsius.

(Unclear: Do both measurements need a minimum temperature? Also unclear: Which temperature is important? The temperature of the soil? The air temperature? Maybe even both temperatures?)

Yes:

You can use the instrument to measure the PH value and the humidity of the soil. Note that you can only measure the PH value if the soil temperature is above 0 degrees Celsius.

or:

You can use the instrument to measure the PH value and the humidity of the soil. Note that you can only measure the humidity if the soil temperature is above 0 degrees Celsius.

or:

You can use the instrument to measure the PH value and the humidity of the soil. Note that both measurements only work if the soil temperature is above 0 degrees Celsius.

Examples    3 

No:

Type 657B devices are green. Type 657C devices are red. The former are made of plastics, whereas the latter are made of steel.

Yes:

Type 657B devices are green. Type 657C devices are red. Type 657B devices are made of plastics, whereas type 657C devices are made of steel.

Top:

Type 657B devices are green and made of plastics. Type 657C devices are red and made of steel.

 


Add syntactic cues

Always use the same terms

Be clear about what you’re referring to

Be parallel