3.6 The Text of the Technical Report
3.6.4 Understandable Writing in Technical Reports
Understandability is a complex term in communication sciences. Whether the target group understands a text depends in general on two groups of properties. These are the “text properties”and the “reader properties”.
Reader properties cannot be influenced by the author, since they depend only on the planned or random readers of the text. They are:
– general prior knowledge of the readers,
– their ability to concentrate on reading and their routine in reading, – their motivation for or inner aversion against the topic(s) of the text, – their command of the language in which the text is written,
– their knowledge of technical terms, and
– their expertise in the describedfield of knowledge.
The text properties are specified by the author beside a few exceptions like layout rules according to a corporate identity. Typical checklist questions referring to text properties are:
– Is the title descriptive and does it create interest?
– Is there a structure and is it logical (“backbone”)?
– Are paragraphs too long?
– Are sentences too long?
– Are there nested sentences?
– Are unknown words explained when they are used for thefirst time?
– Are unknown abbreviations explained when they are used for thefirst time?
– Are there too many foreign words?
– Has the reader all information available in all sections of the Technical Report, which he/she needs for following the contents?
This bullet list shows clearly, that the understandability of the text can be negatively influenced by an inappropriate design of the text properties above. Therefore, we want to describe some possibilities to improve the understandability of non-fictional texts.
Improvements of the understandability of texts can be made on three levels. These are the text level, sentence level and word level, which are individually looked at in the following.
Improvement of the understandability on text level
On the text level the elements that improve the understandability are at first the indices and lists, i.e. table of contents, index, glossary and lists offigures, tables, abbreviations, units and symbols etc.
In addition, headers and footers, marginalia as well as page numbers and cross-references improve the understandability on text level.
Moreover, introductory sentences at the beginning of a document part and connecting sentences at the end of a document part have to be mentioned here. These sentences can also be used for the introduction offigures and tables. They help the reader, to follow the
“backbone”, because they rebuild a connection to the logical structure again. They describe, which information follows next and why, how the following information must be evaluated, which significance the information described so far has etc.
Another measure, which improves the understandability of the text are footnotes.
Footnotes are superordinated numbers, which are consecutively numbered in the text. By default, the number appears behind the text it refers to and it is repeated at the bottom of the page below a left justified, horizontal line of about 4–5 cm length. There you can place
information, which would disturb the normal flow of reading. Examples for such infor- mation are
– comments about cited texts,
– bibliographical data of cited literature,
– the exact location of the cited information in the source of literature and – hints or comments regarding the normal, continuous text.
In most cases (as in ISO 7144 and several other ISO standards) the footnotes appear in a smaller font size than the standard text. However, DIN 5008 recommends to write them in the same font size as the standard text. Footnotes are used quite frequently in the humanities.1In the technical sciences, footnotes are less common.
If one or more footnotes refer to the contents of a table, they appear directly below the table without a horizontal line of 4–5 cm. The German Association of Electrical Engineers recommends that normal footnotes get superscript numbers and tables get superscript small letters to distinguish them from one another. You can manually create the super- script letters (Format—Character, Superscript).
For shorter texts, sometimes endnotes are used, beginning on the last page of the text.
Endnotes can be converted to footnotes by pressing a button and vice versa.
The area of typography (page margins, font type, font size, etc.) brings also possi- bilities to improve the understandability of non-fictional texts, but only in a wider sense.
In a wider sense, because the typography belongs more to recognizability or perceptibility than to understandability.
A quite important rule in this context is: The wider the printing area is (or the longer the lines are), the larger the line spacing should be.
(Good)figures and tables open up the text, complete it and address other apperception channels than continuous text. So, the author can display the information in several ways and on more than one level and the reader can follow the flow of information better.
Therefore you should use manyfigures, tables and bullet lists as well as pictorial or tabular re-arrangements of text, see Sects.3.3.4 and 3.4.8. Examples also make the text illus- trative. However, too many examples can have a negative influence on the briefness and conciseness of your texts.
Improvement of the understandability on sentence level The following overview shows some rules which improve the understandability of non-fictional texts very much.
In addition, the translatability into foreign languages is improved, if you keep these rules.
Rules for better understandability of texts on word level and sentence level – The sentences should be as short and simple as possible.
– Each new fact should preferably be described in a new sentence.
1Here is an example of a footnote, like it is usual in the humanities.
– Leaving out verbs to shorten sentences is not allowed.
– The sentences should not be longer than 25–30 words.
– Paragraphs should have maximum six sentences. Paragraphs with only one sentence should not appear too often.
– Tables and bullet lists should be used as often as appropriate.
– Compound tenses should be avoided (depending on the target group), the simple tenses (present tense, past tense and future tense I) are better understandable for most people.
– Abstract nouns (foreign words) are tiring for the readers and should there- fore be avoided.
– Meaningless phrases and filler words also appear as tiring, if they are used too often, and should be used carefully.
– If a word is used in an unusual meaning, please use quotation marks or italic printing.
– The first verb should not appear too far at the end of the sentence.
– Nested sentences should be avoided. Parentheses in such sentences should be only short. Their contents can eventually be expressed in individual sentences.
– Double negations are in most cases superfluous. A normal negation shall not appear too far at the end of a sentence.
The sentence structure is very important for the understandability of the text. In general one main clause plus one or (more seldom) two sub clauses or a combination of two main clauses should not be exceeded.
The understandability of the text on sentence level can be improved very much by using conjunctions and prepositions. By using conjunctions you design a logical structure of the individual sentence parts and connect the current sentence congruously to the previous one. Here are some examples:
Long sentence without conjunctions (with improvement) not so easy to understand:
Cranes always have a maximum tolerable lifting load, which when excessed, can result in a buckled crane boom, an overturned crane or broken lifting ropes.
better understandable by conjunctions:
Cranes always have a maximum tolerable lifting load. Ifit is considerably excee- ded,thenthe crane boom can buckle, the crane can overturn, or the lifting ropes can break.
A list of conjunctions can be found here:http://grammar.yourdictionary.com/parts-of- speech/conjunctions/conjunctions.html.
Use clear references!
Misleading reference to previous sentence (with improvement) not so easy to understand:
The current Iflows through the resistance R which is relatively small.
Who is meant here? I or R?
better understandable due to clear references:
The current Iflows through the resistance R. R is relatively small.
Use clear, precise and specific formulations. Write„white“or„black“, not„gray“. Unclear wording (with improvement)
not so easy to understand:
The new sensor was much more linear than the old one.
better understandable due to precise expressions and facts:
The sensor characteristic of the new sensor has a deviation from a linear rela- tionship between current andflow rate of max. 3%. In case of the old sensor the deviation was max. 7.6%.
Expressions like rather complex, nearly linear, very fast, little power, highly sensitive and relatively low are much too vague and must be supported with figures, if they are important. If they are unimportant, they should be left out.
▸ Try out to translate your text to a foreign language in your mind. If you do so, you will clearly recognize your complex sentence structures, unclear refer- ences and imprecise descriptions. You will probably wonder, how many alternative and more simple expressions and sentence structures you find, while you translate.
Improvement of the understandability on word level
On word level the amount of simple, common, accurate words shall be as high as possible.
Technical terms and abbreviations shall be explained when they are used for thefirst time.
In addition, technical terms and abbreviations can be explained in a glossary, abbrevia- tions eventually also in a separate list of abbreviations.
In general the number of used foreign words shall be limited. Technical terms some- times consist of several nouns. In this case, you should use hyphens between words which belong together.
The following rule plays a central role for the understandability of text on word level:
▸ Within one Technical Report the same appliance, assembly, part, fact or pro- cess is always consistently called by the same name, otherwise the reader is unnecessarily irritated!
This rule also applies, if within one paragraph one part is addressed all the time. In the language courses, they emphasizefluent speech. Sentence introductions, verbs and nouns are substituted by synonyms, so that the text does not become boring. In your word processor, you can mark a word and look up synonyms with the thesaurus.
However, a Technical Report—other than a lyrical text—has to transport information without any ambiguity. Technical parts, facts and procedures may therefore be addressed only with their once specified names. Otherwise misunderstandings and mistakes can occur—with potentially severe consequences.
It is important that you do not presume too much prior knowledge. Authors overes- timate the knowledge of their readers over and over again. Apply all suitable measures to make your texts clear, understandable and easy to read (figures, tables, bullet lists, intermediate headings etc.).