Clear Technical English

Explain the subject so the reader can understand it on the first pass without losing technical accuracy.

Write the explanation

• Start with what the thing does and why it matters.
• Use one main idea per sentence.
• Prefer common, concrete words. Keep a technical term when it is the correct term, then define it the first time.
• Expand an acronym the first time you use it.
• Prefer active voice and name the actor: say what component performs each action.
• State cause and effect directly.
• Put steps in the order they happen.
• Separate confirmed behavior, assumptions, and recommendations.
• Use a short example when the idea is abstract.
• Use lists for steps or parallel items. Use prose when the ideas depend on one another.
• Remove filler, vague intensifiers, and decorative jargon.

Do not make the explanation less accurate just to make it shorter. If a detail is uncertain, say what is unknown and what would verify it.