Forum Discussion
Formal writing in online instructions
I'm looking for research that says online instructions should be written in normal, complete sentences. Does anyone know of any? I'm new with my company, and they have this style guide that one depa...
Removing unnecessary words can be helpful, but removing too many words can obscure the meaning. I think those examples add cognitive load to understand the directions because you have to work to fill in the missing words. In a button, label, or spreadsheet column heading, that kind of ultra-concise language is great. In elearning, not so much.
Check Patti Shank's work, specifically Write and Organize for Deeper Learning. She has a number of citations in her book that can help you with this.
Thank you! And yes, working to fill in the missing words is why I have such a problem with it.
