Best Tech Writing Tip Ever 曾经最好的科技写作技巧

    I once read an essay by Joseph Epstein in which he describes the glee and suspense¹ in watching a stranger read his essay． It’s happened to many novelists too — the coincidental （dreamed－about） situation where you encounter a stranger reading page after page of your book， without realizing you’re present．I had the opportunity to do somewhat the same today： to watch someone try to follow instructions in a guide I was writing． I learned more from the 20 minutes of watching than I would have learned checking over the guide and testing the instructions for 3 days myself．Areas I thought were simple turned out to be a little confusing． The person hardly read the guide at all； instead， she glanced at it quickly while focusing most of her attention on the screen． When she did read， she read sloppily²， in haste， sometimes reading the wrong section （she was often out of place in the sequence of steps）． One time she lost track of where she was， and didn’t even look at the image where the correct area was circled．Now granted， she knew I was watching． In fact， I asked if I could observe her following the guide． For the most part， she did follow the steps correctly． I was just surprised by the haste， the glancing and scanning instead of reading．How－to guides are not pleasure－reading documents． Of course I know that． It’s not like creative writing， where you hope the reader savors³ the sentences， carefully and thoughtfully processes your ideas and smiles at your wit．I learned several things from this twenty－minute observation：
    ＞ Graphics⁴ are important even if the buttons or selections on the interface⁵ seem obvious to you． The user scans and glances． What would normally require 5－10 seconds to read carefully， she reads in 2 seconds． The image helps her correlate the screen with the instructions． The image often serves as the main content she consumes rather than the words． What is obvious to you， the writer of the guide， may be obvious only out of familiarity — no doubt you’ve spent hours with the application， studying out every menu and function． So of course you know the Admin button is on the top right！ But watch the user look with confusion at the interface， searching for it， though it’s right in front of her．＞ Long paragraphs aren’t read． The user glances for 2 seconds at the guide for every 10 seconds or so she looks at the screen． Because of these glances， keep the sentences in your guide short and easy to follow． Abundant white space， graphics， lists， and bullets should be the norm in the guide．＞ Be even more clear and apparent than you’re inclined to be． While your sentences may be clear and well－structured， simple， to the point， can you process the same information from a two－second glance? Dumb－down the instructions a little — more so than you think． Pretend you’re writing for a sixth grader rather than an adult． Not that the user isn’t intelligent， but the time she gives to your instructions may require increased simplicity⁶ to process it all at a glance．＞ Your user is in a hurry． You may have written the instructions in patience， with calm demeanor⁷， approaching each step and function with longsuffering determination to be exact and accurate． But the user is in a rush． She wants to finish the task as soon as possible． Doing this task is an interruption in her day． Your document is a nuisance． It is the last thing she wants to be doing or reading at the moment． The quicker it’s over， the better．Of course users and situations vary． And the fact that I was present， available for explanations should the instructions or application prove too confusing， throws askew⁸ any scientific observations about user behavior． Still， watching a user try to follow the instructions I wrote was probably the single most effective way of evaluating the clarity， helpfulness， and worth of my instructions than any other method I’ve used．It doesn’t take more than 20 minutes to an hour to get more feedback than you will ever have time to implement⁹． I am now making this user－observation a standard — even if I have to bribe¹⁰ someone with chocolate or proofreading¹¹ favors to do it．

1 suspense   

n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑

参考例句：

• The suspense was unbearable.这样提心吊胆的状况实在叫人受不了。
• The director used ingenious devices to keep the audience in suspense.导演用巧妙手法引起观众的悬念。

2 sloppily   

adv.马虎地，草率地

参考例句：

• Do things neatly, not sloppily. 办事要利落，不要拖泥带水。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Land market after behind-the-scenes plotting concern: how much land can act sloppily? 关注土地市场重重黑幕：有多少土地可以胡来？ 来自互联网

3 savors   

v.意味，带有…的性质( savor的第三人称单数 )；给…加调味品；使有风味；品尝

参考例句：

• His talk savors, of self-conceit. 他的谈话给人以自负的感觉。 来自辞典例句
• This sauce savors, of lemon. 这个调味酱有柠檬味。 来自辞典例句

4 graphics   

n.制图法，制图学；图形显示

参考例句：

• You've leveraged your graphics experience into the video area.你们把图形设计业务的经验运用到录像业务中去。
• Improved graphics took computer games into a new era.经改进的制图技术将电脑游戏带进了一个新时代。

5 interface   

n.接合部位，分界面；v.(使)互相联系

参考例句：

• My computer has a network interface,which allows me to get to other computers.我的计算机有网络接口可以与其它计算机连在一起。
• This program has perspicuous interface and extensive application. 该程序界面明了，适用范围广。

6 simplicity   

n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯

参考例句：

• She dressed with elegant simplicity.她穿着朴素高雅。
• The beauty of this plan is its simplicity.简明扼要是这个计划的一大特点。

7 demeanor   

n.行为；风度

参考例句：

• She is quiet in her demeanor.她举止文静。
• The old soldier never lost his military demeanor.那个老军人从来没有失去军人风度。

8 askew   

adv.斜地；adj.歪斜的

参考例句：

• His glasses had been knocked askew by the blow.他的眼镜一下子被打歪了。
• Her hat was slightly askew.她的帽子戴得有点斜。

9 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

10 bribe   

n.贿赂；v.向…行贿，买通

参考例句：

• He tried to bribe the policeman not to arrest him.他企图贿赂警察不逮捕他。
• He resolutely refused their bribe.他坚决不接受他们的贿赂。

11 proofreading   

校对，校勘( proofread的现在分词 )； 做校对工作； 校读

参考例句：

• Martha, when can you finish proofreading the script? 玛莎，你什么时候可以校对完剧本？ 来自轻松英语会话---联想3000词(上)
• Attention, an important factor in editing and proofreading, affects editing quality directly. 注意力是编校过程中重要的心理因素，直接影响编辑质量。