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Mathematics with Business Applications6th EditionMcGraw-Hill Education 3,760 solutions Jargon is unnecessarily complicated language used to impress, rather than to inform, your audience. Technical languageWhen we say not to use jargon, we’re not advocating leaving out necessary technical terms, but we are saying to make sure your language is as clear as possible. For example, there may not be another correct way to refer to a “brinulator valve control ring.” But that doesn’t prevent you from saying “tighten the brinulator valve control ring securely” instead of “Apply sufficient torque to the brinulator valve control ring to ensure that the control ring assembly is securely attached to the terminal such that loosening cannot occur under normal conditions.” The first is a necessary use of a technical term. The second is jargon. Special terms can be useful shorthand within a particular audience and may be the clearest way to communicate with that group. However, going beyond necessary technical terms to write in jargon can cause misunderstanding or alienation, even if your only readers are specialists. Readers complain about jargon more than any other writing fault, because writers often fail to realize that terms they know well may be difficult or meaningless to their audience. Try to substitute everyday language for jargon as often as possible. Consider the following pairs. The plainer version conveys technical information just as accurately as and more clearly than the jargon-laden version.
When you have no way to express an idea except to use technical language, make sure to define your terms. However, it’s best to keep definitions to a minimum. Remember to write to communicate, not to impress. If you do that, you should naturally use less jargon. For more on definitions, see Dealing with definitions. Legal languageLegal language is a major source of annoying jargon. Readers can do without archaic jargon such as “hereafter,” “heretofore,” and “therewith.” Professor Joseph Kimble (2006), a noted scholar on legal writing, warns that we should avoid words and formalisms that give legal writing its musty smell. He includes the following words in his list of examples:
“Shall” is also losing its popularity in legal circles. Obviously, it’s especially important in regulations to use words of authority clearly, and many legal writing experts recommend avoiding the archaic and ambiguous “shall” in favor of another word, depending on your meaning. Read more about “shall” in Use “must” to convey requirements. Business jargonHere is a brief list of meaningless filler phrases:
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What is the term for technical expressions that have become fashionable?Buzzwords. Technical expressions that have become fashionable and often are meant to impress rather than express. Ex: of buzzwords. Optimize, incentivize, innovative, leveraging, right-size, and paradigm shift. White space.
How is proofreading different from revising lo1?Students often use the terms “revision” and “proofreading” interchangeably, but they are actually different processes. Revision deals with organization, audience, and focus. Proofreading deals with surface errors. Reading for the big picture and trying to see your writing as readers see it.
Which type of tone is best for business messages?"The business writer should strive for an overall tone that is confident, courteous, and sincere; that uses emphasis and subordination appropriately; that contains nondiscriminatory language; that stresses the "you" attitude; and that is written at an appropriate level of difficulty" (Ober 88).
What is parallel structure quizlet?Parallel Structure. Parallel structure means using the same pattern of words for two or more words or ideas in a sentence. The basic parallel structure rule is that the things in a list should be in the same grammatical form.
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