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W O R D S ... from Janis Ramey This newsletter about writing is the latest in a series that we send to clients and associates. __________________________ Contents One Space or Two? Byte Sized Quick Quiz Write for Immediate Impact Answers to Quick Quiz __________________________   ONE SPACE OR TWO? You may be in the habit of putting two spaces between sentences. In today's world, you need only one, especially when using proportional fonts such as Times New Roman or Arial. Note that even with a mono-spaced font such as the plain text you may be using to view this newsletter, only one space is needed. Because the period takes so little of the allotted space, there is enough apparent space to visually separate the sentences. BYTE SIZED Ever get confused about file sizes? Which size is bigger and how are they related? 8 bits = 1 Byte (A bit is one digit, either a 1 or 0.) 1,000 Bytes = 1 Kilobyte (KB) 1,000 Kilobytes (KB) = 1 Megabyte (MB) 1,000 Megabytes (MB) = 1 Gigabyte (GB) Coming soon into common usage are terabytes and petabytes followed eventually by exabytes, zettabytes, and yottabytes. Really large! Note: The above is referring to file sizes on a disk or transmission rates. A megabyte of memory is somewhat larger. Some typical sizes -- A 3.5-inch floppy disk holds 1.44 Megabytes. A CD ROM holds 650-700 Megabytes. (About 450 floppies.) A 20-GB hard drive holds about the same amount as 31 CD ROMs or 14,222 floppy disks. A 1-Megabyte file will take 7 to 10 minutes to download using the average dial-up Internet connection. A typical short email message without attachments or graphics is 3 to 8 KB. A photo sent by email should be 50 to 90 KB, or smaller. QUICK QUIZ Cross out the unnecessary words -- They were warned of the fact that the vessel might leak. This is done in order to increase its corrosion resistance. Management is in the process of reviewing the procedures. (See below for answers.) WRITE FOR IMMEDIATE IMPACT Most of our writing today is for email messages, short reports, web pages, and presentations. Readers (and writers) are impatient. Read fast; write fast. Here are some techniques for producing immediate impact -- Bulleted or numbered lists. Use these when you have several items or ideas that don't need much explanation. Incomplete sentences. Your English teacher is no longer your primary reader. Sentence fragments work in some situations (for example when explaining bullet items) and are perfectly acceptable. Short paragraphs. Paragraphs with the most impact usually have only two to four sentences. And the sentences are short. Strong words. Words packed with meaning, especially the verbs. Headings. Tell your complete story in the headings. And use lots of them. Avoid uninformative headings such as "Introduction"; say something specific, such as "Current Testing Methods are Inadequate." Graphics, tables, and charts with captions. Most people will look at these first and read the captions. Chances are good that's all they'll read. Make sure these relay the most important parts of your story, for example the results or recommendations. ANSWERS TO QUICK QUIZ They were warned [of the fact] that the vessel might leak. This is done [in order] to increase its corrosion resistance. Management is [in the process of] reviewing the procedures.   NEWS NOTE I'm pleased to announce that the Society for Technical Communication has made me an Associate Fellow. This is an honor I treasure. For a description of the award, go to www.stcpgh.org and look at the Feb/Mar 2005 issue of the Blue Pencil newsletter. [Words issue e11] Copyright (c) 2005 Janis Ramey To subscribe: If you'd like to receive this free newsletter, please send e-mail and ask to be added to our subscribers list. Send to: ramey@technical-writing.net Click here for a list of articles by Janis Ramey.

email: ramey@technical-writing.net

Copyright © 2005 Janis Ramey