Tribute to leadership

I reconnected to Rusi Brij through LinkedIn last year. He was my first manager who introduced me to technical
communication. He was in charge of marketing and publications in Sonata and called me to interview for the
post of Technical Editor. I had never heard of that role before and he suggested that I try it out with an
assignment. He felt that I would be suitable for the job with my combined background in Literature and
Computer Software, rather rare two decades ago. I tried it out, liked it, and stayed on.

I was thrilled to connect with him and decided I’d call him on my next visit to the US, which was in June this
year. I hadn’t been in touch with him over the years and there was too much to catch up over email. On May 22nd, I got the sudden and
sad news that he had passed away. He had cancer but most people didn’t know that. I never did end up calling him. Thank you, Rusi, for
helping me determine my career. I wish I could tell you about STC and everything.

Rusi was a gentle soul and what I remember about him most was that he was a good human being. A valuable lesson in management that
is rarely taught in classes. Leaders shouldn’t lose sight of it despite difficult times, changes, challenges, and threats. A lot of things can be
learnt in B-schools, but the most important attribute of a leader – integrity - cannot be taught. That stays with you across jobs, people, and
projects. Build it, maintain it, and it will stay with you regardless of organisation.

The other lesson I learnt from him was to identify talents and skills quickly and provide the right opportunities. Too often, managers are
caught up in their ego and do not cultivate leadership talent as they fear a threat to their position. With layoffs becoming commonplace,
insecurity sometimes rules over good judgment while developing people. The mediocre or the sycophants rise more quickly, which is a
shame.

I pondered over the knowledge I had gained from Rusi, but not quite realized till now. I remembered a couple of my other managers who
contributed a lot to my leadership development.

Rich Cahalan was the COO of Trillium in the US, where I joined as a Technical writer/Instructional designer. He gave me the opportunity to
rise as a leader and provided me with the required authority and helped to remove obstacles in my path. A valuable lesson in fairness,
where the fact that I was an Indian did not matter and I eventually became the Director of Documentation and Training with a mostly
American team plus a few Canadians and Indians. Probably the most rewarding stint in my career so far.

Most of my initial management training was on the job by emulating all that I appreciated in Dave O’Brien, VP, and my next manager in
Trillium. I learnt from him the true importance of career growth through professional development plans, professionalism, creating a fun
and rewarding work environment with high productivity, thinking out-of-the box, moving from operational to strategic management, and
many other tips.

After that, I was hooked on management and leadership, and continually strove to improve in these areas in various jobs, taking classes,
and reading. Leadership is so abstract and dynamic that no one can really claim to have mastered it. I have had many managers in my
long career, and have acquired many things from them—BKMs (Best Known Methods) and WKMs (Worst Known Methods)—both form an
important part of education.

For all managers and leaders—here’s a 20-point summary of the wisdom gleaned over the years:

1. Be a good human being

2. Be fair
3. Have integrity
4. Develop good judgment
5. Discard ego if it’s blinding you
6. Don’t be insecure
7. Recognise talent quickly
8. Provide or create the right opportunities
9. Encourage career growth through Individual Development Plans
10. Encourage professional development through training and industry activities
11. Strike a balance between the individual, team, and company—you have a responsibility to all
12. Cultivate good leadership
13. Don’t encourage sycophants
14. Don’t play favourites
15. Delegate with authority
16. Remove obstacles
17. Be professional
18. Create a conducive work environment—the rest will follow
19. Be open to new ideas
 20. Continually hone your leadership skills

For everyone out there, a few final points:

1. Learn from your managers (good points and bad).

2. Develop your leadership skills irrespective of position. I recommend reading a book called, “You don’t need a title to be a leader,”
by Mark Sanborn.
3. Do recognise and thank good managers who have developed you or coached you. Management is often a difficult and thankless
job, and some sincere (not sycophantic) appreciation can be motivating.

In this year’s conference, we will have a separate Leadership track focusing on management and leadership topics and workshops. I am
on the Content Committee and will be working on this track. If you have suggestions and requests for topics to be covered, do submit it in
the form given on the conference web site. You can even win a prize!

So don’t wait till it’s too late. Submit that idea. Make that call. Show your gratitude.

— Sandhya, President - STC India Chapter

Open-Source Software for Technical Writers

— Harjot Singh Dhodi

When the question of cost-cutting arises, one area where companies find it tough to compromise is on the
licensing cost of the tools. In most cases, the cost is billable to the client because requirement is of the
client's. Sometimes however, where there is no specific requirement for a particular tool, the cost is borne by
the service provider. For companies that are struggling in the current times because of the economic
slowdown, an option that might not compromise on product quality is to switch to open-source software.

In this article, I will talk about open-source publishing tools for the writing community.

Recently, I came across several good open-source software that you can use for technical writing and graphic designing. Some of these
are:

Dia - Dia is an open-source diagramming tool that is similar to the commercial Microsoft Visio, but less powerful. It can be
used with Linux, UNIX, and Windows under the GPL license. With Dia, you can drawing entity relationship diagrams, UML
diagrams, flowcharts, network diagrams, and many other kinds of diagrams. It is also possible to add support for new
shapes by writing simple XML files and using a subset of SVG to draw the shape. Moreover, Dia can load and save diagrams
to a custom XML format and in other formats such as EPS, SVG, XFIG, WMF and PNG.

To try your hand on this tool, visit http://www.gnome.org/projects/dia/.

Inkscape - Inkscape is an open-source graphics editor, with features similar to Adobe Illustrator, CorelDRAW, or Xara X. It
has many advanced SVG features such as markers, clones, alpha blending, and so on. With its streamlined user interface,
Inkscape is very easy to use. The Inkscape Web site has knowledge-base resources, documentation, and a Wiki for product
support.

To try your hand on this tool, visit http://www.inkscape.org/download/?lang=en.

OpenOffice.org - OpenOffice.org is the leading office software suite for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations,
graphics, and databases. The product suite is available in multiple languages and can be used on all common computers.
The tool is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux platforms, and replicates much of the functionality of Microsoft Office Word
and Excel. In addition, it reads and writes to Microsoft Office formats and supports the OpenDocument Format (ODF) 1.2
standard. Moreover, with this tool, you can maintain compatibility with Microsoft Office users by setting the document
options to be saved in Microsoft Office formats.

To try your hand on this tool, visit http://download.openoffice.org/.

GIMP - GIMP stands for GNU Image Manipulation Program. This tool has features similar to Adobe Photoshop. With this
tool, you can run a simple paint program, do quality photo-retouching, run online batch processes, render images for mass
production, and convert the file formats of images. The tool is expandable, extensible, and can be augmented with plug-ins.
The GIMP Web site has product documentation.

To try your hand on this tool, visit http://www.gimp.org/.

Scribus - Scribus is an open source, award-winning program that creates professional page layouts on Linux, UNIX, Mac OS
 X, OS/2, and Windows platforms. Scribus has professional publishing features such as CMYK color, separations, ICC color
management, and versatile PDF creation. It has a community that assists beginners and professionals through a mailing list,
IRC channel, Wiki, contracted support, and bugtracker.

To try your hand on this tool, visit http://www.scribus.net/.

Eclipse Help System – Eclipse was originally an IBM product but now falls under the open-source category. The Eclipse
Help System has a powerful IDE that includes its own help system based on an XML table of contents that reference HTML
files. With this tool, you can build easy-to-use and searchable help documentation.

To try your hand on this tool, visit http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/opensource/library/os-echelp/#resources.

The aim of this article is to spread awareness and promote the use of open-source software among writers and designers, without
compromising on the work quality. However, sometimes the software can cost more in terms of time, support, troubleshooting, and
configuration.

About the Author

Harjot Singh Dhodi is an Associate Consultant – Technical Writing Group in GlobalLogic, Noida. His experience in technical writing is
close to six years. He can be reached at harjotdhodi@gmail.com.

Editor's footnote: Not all open-source software applications are free. Open-source software might have restrictions on commercial use.

The Voice Speaks

— Sharada Palagummi

I learnt that a verb is the most essential part of speech. So, I thought investing a little time to learn to use it
better (if not master it) might not be a bad idea. But then, there are so many aspects of a verb. Can I ever
say I learnt it?

I can try one proven (presumably by the British) method: divide and conquer. I will start with the voice of a
verb, the much-talked-about aspect of a verb.

The general opinion on the Active Voice and the Passive Voice seems to be:

Go for the Active Voice. Go for the Passive Voice.

I want to know exactly who Oh, don’t bother me with
does what. Make that clear who is doing it. Just tell me

A
to me. what happens.

P
You don’t need to worry. I
“Brevity is the soul of wit”. have time to read all that is
Even one word is one too written and I am intelligent
many. enough to figure out what is
happening.
OK, tell me what the matter
Do not obfuscate. Come to
is and then tell me who is
the subject directly.
responsible for it.

Now, let’s see how it works in the life of a reader of technical content.

When you save a document as a Web page, the

textures and gradients are saved as JPEG files and
the patterns are saved as GIF files.
Figure 1 shows the components of the system and
their interfaces.

If you clear the Remember Password box, the

system asks for your password before
downloading the mail whenever you run Outlook.

If you delete a file from a removable disk, the file

is deleted permanently.

Attributes store supplementary information about

an element that does not appear with the
content of the document

After successful installation on the desktop, the

setup program searches for an active connection
with a Windows Mobile handheld device.

Edit the configuration file to change the

maximum number of concurrent users allowed by
the system. The configuration file is found in
\XXXSystem\CONFIG\USER.CFG.

In social life, if I hear too many passive voices, I smell a politician. In news items, stories and movies, I am particular about the Active
Voice. Marlon Brando said “I'll make him an offer he can't refuse.” Now, I shudder to imagine how it would have sounded in the Passive
Voice.

The preference for the Active Voice to the Passive Voice is very important in non-technical text; but, not so much in technical content.

I cannot blame the technical writer (TW) for using the Passive Voice in these cases.

The HP All-in-One software must also be installed and running on your computer prior to scanning.

The TW cannot say “Install the HP All-in One...” because the user need not install the software if it is already done; the user has to
ensure that it is installed. The TW is not expected to know who is supposed to install.

In Windows Explorer, the current folder is highlighted.

The TW cannot say “Windows Explorer highlights ...” since the highlighting might not be done actually by Windows Explorer.

The data connection is automatically disconnected when you exit the application.

Again, is the TW supposed to know what is responsible for the disconnection and, more importantly, is the user interested in it?
There are situations where you cannot blame me if I don’t like the “passive” writing.
 A variety of views and editing functions are provided by the tool.

I, most definitely, want it to read “The tool provides a variety of views and editing functions.”

That the system is running on the internal battery is indicated by a battery icon.

I insist on “The battery icon indicates that the system is running on the internal battery.”

When the backup is in progress, the file cannot be edited.

I prefer “When the backup is in progress, you cannot edit the file.”

There are some situations where there is not much to prefer one to the other.

When a document is open in the master page view, the name of the master page and the number of master pages in the document are
shown in the status bar.

When a document is open in the master page view, the status bar shows the name of the master page and the number of master pages
in the document.

Hence, I conclude that it is more important to choose what the reader finds easy. As a technical writer, my primary duty is to be useful to
my reader.

A few related thoughts

When I write sentences such as “Click OK” or “Select Master Pages from the View menu”, I am using the imperative mood. The
mood is an entirely different aspect of a verb.
When I write sentences such as “When you hover the mouse over a link, the cursor appears as a hand symbol”, I am using the
verb appear, which is an intransitive verb. Transitive and intransitive verbs reveal another aspect of a verb.
When I write a sentence such as “The next release of the software will take care of the highlighting problem”, I am still using the
Active Voice with the verb in the future tense. Had I written the sentence as “The highlighting problem will be taken care of by the
next release of the software”, I would have used the Passive Voice. Similarly, when I write “The screen refreshing problem was not
present in the previous version of the software”, I am using the Active Voice with the verb in the past tense; I am not using a
Passive-Voice expression.

Thus, the Active-Voice sentences need not be in the present tense alone.

An expression in the Passive Voice uses a form of be: such as be, am, is, was, were or are. However, the converse is not true; all
the expressions that use a form of be might not be in the Passive Voice.
A Passive-Voice sentence may include a "by the..." phrase after the verb. However, if the agent performing the action is not
mentioned, you may not find this phrase.

As the Good Book says

In High School English Grammar & Composition, Wren and Martin say:

The Active Voice is used when the Subject is to be made prominent; the Passive, when the Object is
to be made prominent. Hence, the Passive voice may be used when the doer is unknown, or we do
not care to name the doer.

The Documentation Style Guide for OpenSolaris by Sun Microsystems says:

Use Active Voice and Passive Voice Appropriately.

Always try to write in the active voice, but do not fear the correct, thoughtful use of the passive
voice. Writing entirely in the Active Voice is nearly impossible to achieve, so know when to use the
passive voice.

The Microsoft Manual of Style for Technical Publications says:

In general, use the active voice, which tells who or what is performing the action of the sentence.

Avoid the passive voice except when necessary to avoid a wordy or awkward construction; when the
subject is unknown or not the focus of the sentence; or in error messages and troubleshooters, when
the user is the subject and might feel blamed for the error if the active voice were used. Passive voice
is more often used and acceptable in programmer documentation.

About the Author

Sharada Palagummi has a Masters in Statistics, worked as a lecturer for 7 years and then, about 12 years ago, became a technical writer.
She knows French, Italian, Japanese, and Chinese. She can be contacted at sharadap@integramicro.com.

In future editions of INDUS, look out for short notes on, examples from, and comparisons between style guides.

- Editor

Don't Lose Your Articles

— Uma Sastry

One of the difficult concepts to understand in the English language is perhaps the manner in which articles are used in a sentence. Over
the course of one's life history, every student of English has had to face this nightmare at one point of time or another. The verbs are all in
place and you know the nouns, the pronouns are fairly obvious, and the prepositions can eventually be worked out, but what comes
before the word year and what comes before SMS is tricky. I have often heard people saying ‘a SMS’. The argument goes like this: If you
go by the expansion of the term SMS, it is ‘a’ and if you go by its pronunciation, it is ‘an’.

And it doesn’t really matter how many languages other than English that you might know, because all those other languages seem to be
related to each other, and none of them sound anything like English. It’s like the black sheep, the ugly duckling, a sore thumb that sticks
out and makes rude gestures at you when you do not use articles appropriately. So we agree that articles are used very differently in
English as compared with most other languages. But different doesn’t necessarily mean difficult. It just means you need some time to
adjust yourself to it, and once you know the ropes you may even find out that it just about makes sense. After all, the ugly one did end up
becoming the swan.

Let’s start at the very beginning then, shall we?

An article modifies a noun. But how do we identify a noun? Any word which can go with the word the is a noun. For example: the birds,
the configuration, the software, the server, the UI or the OS.

Articles are placed depending upon whether the noun is specific or non specific.

A noun is said to be specific when the speaker and audience know about it. A non-specific noun is the one that is either generic in
reference or unknown to the audience.

1. Companies are not doing well.

2. The companies are not doing well.

Sentence 1 does not talk about a specific set of companies whereas sentence 2 does.

Therefore, if it is a plural specific noun, use the. In other words if you say the companies, a native speaker of English will assume that you
are referring to a particular set of companies. If you do not use the, the noun is understood to be generic.

A and an are indefinite articles and are used when we make a general statement about any object. For example, “It is a server”, or “That
is a tiger or “It’s an OS” – such statements refer to one of a type or class of objects and not to any one object in particular. Now, can I say
‘that is server’? No.So the first rule is: A singular count noun is always preceded by an article. Never say ‘I’m going to temple.’ It is either a
temple or the temple.

The is a definite article that is used when we talk about a specific object. The object could be either a count noun or a non count noun.
Yes, whether the noun is count or non count matters a lot for articles. There are certain nouns which do not have plurals and they do not
let us use a or an with them. However, the goes with any specific noun except, of course, proper nouns.
Is this sentence right? It is an accounting software. If not, why?Can we say equipments, feedbacks, informations?

Now let’s make things a bit more interesting.

A zero article is said to be used when the noun is NOT preceded by any article.

“Knowledge is power” refers to knowledge in general, and not to any specific piece of information. However, the phrase “The knowledge
that I gained from the company” refers to specific information, and the word 'knowledge' is therefore preceded by the.

And now, have a look at a few Indian English markers:

My uncle is in US. (We do not bother to say ‘the US’)

I have one problem. (We use a, an, and one interchangeably)

I have invited lot of friends. (We happily ignore a before ‘lot’)

After reading everything that you did just now, you could still be unsure of when to use what, and so remember these thumb rules to
rescue you the next time you find yourself tongue-tied about your articles.

A/An The Zero Article

Specific singular count noun

Non specific singular count
noun
Example: a server, an OS, a UI
Example: the server, the OS, a UI
Non specific plural count noun
Specific Plural count noun Example: companies
Example: the servers
Non specific non count noun
Specific Non count noun Example: Knowledge
Example: the equipment, the
knowledge

About the Author

Uma Sastry is an English language trainer. She be can reached at auma123@gmail.com.

My Journey from Technical Writing to Pharma Quality

Management
— Kumar Narasimha

Like most people who entered the technical communication profession in India in the mid to late 1990s, I too
became a technical writer more by accident than by design. I enjoyed my technical writing career
thoroughly, but slowly moved away, and a decade later, I now find myself heading the Quality Management
function at a multi-national clinical research and technology company in India. The career paths of no two
individuals are similar. And yet, there are always some common themes in successful transitions from one career path to another.

How I became a technical communicator?

With a background in English literature, and working experience as a freelance writer and full-time journalist, technical writing was my
entry point into the world of Information Technology (IT).

My job as a technical communicator at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) exposed me to the entire range of opportunities possible for a
fresher – user manuals, online help, creating and conducting technical communication training programs, SDLC documentation, business
and technical proposals, Web site and intranet content creation, white papers, consultancy study reports – the whole nine yards. I was
fascinated by the powers of Word, PowerPoint, and Excel, not to speak of RoboHelp! But mostly, it was editing, and more editing.

The best Technical Communication project I worked on

The high point of my tryst with core technical communication came after three years of continuous learning and exploration of the
technology and outsourcing world. And that project turned out to be for a product called Microsoft TV Server, using technologies we had
never heard of. It was such a challenging and fulfilling project that we did not mind 15-hour work days for 3 months on the trot. When
Microsoft accepted our deliveries and sent an appreciation note, I felt that nothing I would ever do as a technical communicator would
match that high. I was determined to explore something new.

Technical Writing in the pharma industry

(You may want to read a long blog post on this subject (http://kumarsbol.blogspot.com/2006/02/technical-writing-
in-life-sciences.html), first published in TechCraft).

Our pharma client had just been served with a bunch of 483s by the US FDA (http://www.tourault.com/article1.htm). The findings were
related to IT Infrastructure and some US federal rule called 21 CFR Part 11(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Title_21_CFR_Part_11). I had no
clue about these things but all it took me to get a general idea was a couple of days of internet reading. And the clients needed us (a team
of technical writers) to do a lot of qualification and validation documentation. I was so fascinated by this new world that opened in front of
me that I volunteered for all types of training programmes available at the client location, including a one-week intensive course, in their
in-house university, on regulatory compliance for IT systems.

As our teams took on bigger challenges, the roles kept changing, and the TCS account for this client kept growing exponentially :-) I found
myself leading not just my project, but also playing a role in new project wins and client relationship. After I completed my PMP, I became
a Project Manager for five purely technical projects, and also a Process Excellence champion for the entire account. The technical-
communication content of my role decreased to a trickle towards the end – just work allocation, status reviews, and guidance when
required.

Traveling on two boats

I returned to India in 2004 and rejoined the Technical Communication group at TCS. I tried to indulge in my earlier passion of business
development for TW services, and saw that TechPubs in the engineering domain had a lot of scope. We saw some quick wins and the
model got established in the group. Meanwhile, the Life Sciences industry Practice in TCS touched base with me, and sought my support
on client audits, proposals, and training. I became known as the resident expert on pharma regulatory compliance. After a year of
travelling on two boats – technical communication and regulatory compliance - I decided to go for another stint abroad to help me decide
what I really want to do. And this time, my company positioned me not as a Senior TechCom person, but as a Validation Manager.

Mid-way through my stint in the United Kingdom, I decided to move away from TechCom and join the Life Sciences practice. When I
returned to India in 2006, the Practice Head tasked me with setting up a Regulatory Compliance business unit as a sub-practice.

And when I left TCS in 2008 to join my current company (PAREXEL), as Director- Quality Management, I looked back on the journey so far
and realized that my job titles may have changed over the years, but the core skills and job requirements have not changed at all!

So, what are these core skills and attributes that enable a successful transition (or transformation)? I list only a few, though I must admit
that I have not done much myself on some of these areas. My journey continues :-)

1. Communication: Reading, listening, writing, and speaking – there is always a scope for improvement in these areas, even for
experienced professionals. As we move up the professional ladder, situations that call for ‘clarity of comprehension and articulation’
are a daily occurrence.
2. Learning ability or Learnability: Spend as much time as you possibly can in learning. This learning need not be just domain- or
technology-related. One must try to learn all that one can about the business side of things. The ability to put a dollar value on an
activity is so uncommon that if you develop it, it is one sure way of getting noticed and being offered bigger roles. No one really
cares about academic background once you get in J
3. Interpersonal skills: Often, people assume that this is only about ‘getting along fine’ with others, and ‘ability to get things done’.
These two factors are important but, in my experience, I have seen that those who volunteer to help others (without expecting a lot
in return) always end up growing faster than the average Joe or Jane. One must always look for ways to contribute. And yes, be
fair and stay out of controversies if possible.
4. Bat for the users: This is what we learn as one of the fundamental tenets of technical and business communication, and this one
attribute (that I have consciously cultivated) has helped me so many times that I have lost count. In any discussion, the one who
speaks for the end user always gets heard by those who matter. And technical communicators generally are better in playing the
users’ advocate than most other roles are. So, go for it and never lose this attribute, no matter which role you move in to.
5. Be Lazy: A friend calls it the ‘Rajnikant rule’ (If I have said once, I have said it a hundred times). Anytime you find a repetitive
activity, look for ways to automate it or think of a process-based solution that can eliminate the need for this activity. This, again, is
a fundamental rule of content design (single sourcing any one?).

One can add more items to this list, but my aim is to indicate that as accomplished technical communicators, most of us already have the
required core skills that will help us succeed in any career stream that requires handling of a learning curve, people management, process
focus, and communication skills.

A successful technical communicator can head a proposal writing team, a corporate communications team, a quality management unit, or
run a usability lab. One of the earliest technical communicators in India went on to become the Chief Knowledge Officer of an IT major.
No, there was no such role in that company. He created that role for himself. A talented technical writer and usability guru set up his own
fine-dining restaurant!

The most important attribute, though, is that of being alive to opportunities, and making the move at the right time. One can also stay on
in technical communication like many of us do, and pursue a path to become a thought leader within the industry. Whatever it is that one
decides to do, the core skills one learns early on in this profession are the ones that ensure success in the long run. All the very best!
About the Author
The writer lives in Hyderabad and can be contacted at narasimhakumar at gmail dot com.

Awful writer or “awe”full writer

- Sangeeta Menon

Before you read

If you are reading this article in INDUS, I assume that the majority of you must be technical writers. The peer-review checklist might be
firmly etched in your mind. Please make sure this checklist in disabled. If doing so is not possible, just click the X sign at the top-right
corner of the screen. Also, if you have no sense of humor, it is mandatory to click the X sign. I make no apologies for the grammatical
errors or syntax errors or sentence structure or comma splices or… whew..pant..pant… this ‘or’ is making me breathless. In fact, I am
thriving on these errors because my creative skills are running riot. I have expressed my thoughts in an unconventional manner and,
believe me, the feeling is exhilarating and invigorating.

Ok here goes…

I have a confession to make. I think I am not a good writer. Not really. I simply cannot pen down my ideas for long periods of time and
neither does the light glow bright in my grey cells with many ideas like it does for some others. If at all I get a flash and write, it takes me
unbearably long to put it all down. My thoughts do not flow like a running stream as that of some other writers. I also cannot seem to say
what I mean to say and soon forget what I originally intended to convey. Now that is bad because I am a professional writer and the USP1
of the writer is the exact opposite.

So, now me, I confine myself to writing only about software. In other words, I am a technical writer. I seem to be doing okie-dokie (they
gave me a good feedback). But often, I find technical documentation boring and get yawning fits every time I read “technical mumbo-
jumbo”. What are my tasks? At times, all I do is create headings and paragraph styles, and align pictures. After that, I need to ensure
that the file names are according to the standards, the documents are converted to portable format, and the correct version is stored
properly. Now, does that not make being a technical writer a lot of hard work? We think about such things as Em dashes and squinting
modifiers and figure citations, and make sure that the reader understands and benefits from what is written. (Stage whisper: I don’t see
how these can be so important so long as a reader of ordinary intelligence understands what is written.)

But then, not everything about my job is difficult. What makes my tasks easy? I am bound by templates and copy-paste operations of
documents that "technical people" have written. A spell-checker fine-tunes my writing. If there are errors, no one notices or if they do,
they seem not to care - else what I write would have been ripped apart by the reviewers the way a dog does the rags. I do not have to
worry too much as I work in a team and hurrah to the peer review process! And of course, I can loudly protest (in India, you have to be
very noisy to be heard) that the technical team steam-rolled me into writing this way, that I cannot touch this or that because doing will
change the technical meaning (you get the picture…) The verb–noun confusions and minimalism and parallel constructions principle can
be buried in the protest that the document has to be technically consistent so as not to confuse the reader (method in madness). I can
also argue that a perfect document is like mannequin - beautiful but useless. Readers want some variety and that we have to maintain
their interest level.( No No No. the last two statements are not true. Some mischievous elf in me made me write this - I am sorry - And
that same elf will not allow me to delete the sentences.)

In addition, (I use this word instead of “additionally”), I wear a “TW uniform”. As writers, we have an image and an attitude to keep,
right? During “brainstorm meetings”, I hold a pen (who cares whether the pen works or not) and a notepad, look suitably serious, and nod
at regular intervals (which indicates I am concentrating - note the use of the word "indicates"). The glasses perched on my nose completes
the serio-intelli effect. A fellow pseudo-technical writer (a full-fledged mentally-challenged writer with a Big company) once told me that
you can easily get away by asking questions (in accented English) that the technical people would frown upon - evidently, the techies get
an inferiority complex after listening to us talk eloquent words that make nonsense of their sensible, simple, and sweet English, and have
them running for cover.

So, what does all this make me?. An “awful writer” or an “awe”ful writer.
1 Unique Selling Proposition (USP for short) is what sets your product (or service) apart from the competition with a proposition that your potential customers see as attractive.

About the Author

Sangeeta Menon is a writer by heart and by head (oops! Profession). Her career path is divided into two verticals - Pharmaceuticals and IT.
She worked as a QA chemist for some years and when the pharma market turned grim, she took recourse in the software sector. Armed
with a diploma in Software Engineering, she kick-started a new path in writing and then strayed to technical writing by sheer luck and has
never looked back since. She can be reached at sangeeta1004@hotmail.com.

Five Cool Things in Microsoft Word

—SKP's tips

Open a Word document which you have not worked on for ages, and press Shift F5. The cursor is
positioned at the point where you edited it last.

(Of course, it works in a currently active document too. If you scroll up or down to see what was
written in some other sections, and want to come back to where you were editing, press Shift F5)

All of a sudden, you decide to give a special look to your procedure tables (say, give them all a light
grey background like this row has), don’t entertain any second thoughts because you have fifty tables
in your document.
Do it in one table, and move your cursor to other such tables and just press F4 or (Control + y).
Again, it need not be only the appearance of tables; F4 just repeats the last action, and can be used
whenever you have to select a lot of menus or press a lot of keys to get an effect that you need to do
repeatedly.
You can even do it across multiple documents if they are open. Just remember not to do anything
else in Word while you are in the middle of the F4 action.

To make a quick and dirty index:

Enter the index in a plain text file with each entry a new line. (This can be done offline,
without even opening the actual document on your system.)
In Word, open the actual document and select the index insertion option. (The References
ribbon in Word 2007 or the Insert menu in the earlier versions)
Select the Auto Mark option and select the file with the index entries.
Select the index insertion option and click OK. (Of course, place the cursor where you want
the index.)

As you can imagine, adding cross references or sub entries is not really quick.

If a special character or paragraph formatting is applied to some text and you want to apply the
same format to some other parts of the text in the document, use format painter.
Select the text (it can be an entire paragraph) with the format you liked, click on the format painter
tool, go to the text where you want to apply the format and run the mouse over the text.
Easier done with a mouse.
If you want to apply the format at many other places, double click on the format painter.
If the format painter is not visible in your toolbar, customise your toolbar.

We are talking about applying formats without disturbing the styles.

If you are working on the same copy of a document that contains many comments from others (or by
you) and you want to be dead certain that the receiver of your document cannot see any of those
comments, use the Delete All Comments in the Document.

Very useful while sending proposals to prospective customers or if you do not want to advertise the
individual opinions of others.

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