Simplified Technical English and Clearer Documentation through the Thumbs Up Technique (1/3)

Published on April 4, 2016

Simplified Technical English (STE) is generally considered as being of great importance for writing clear and unambiguous content, mainly for user instructions like maintenance manuals. However, many technical writers experience specific problems when implementing STE. Although theoretically possible, STE is not an easy language to learn by self-study. The ASD-STE100 Specification is a complex document and many writers have identified the steep learning curve as a disadvantage [1].

In this series of three articles, Ferry Vermeulen, MSc. will show three steps that will help to apply Simplified Technical English, without going through the full learning curve. By following the steps as described in these articles, it is possible to apply the principles of STE to the documentation you write quite easily. The technique, called the Thumbs Up Technique, can be considered as a first step to improve the quality of your content by implementing STE, decrease translations costs and create a better user experience.

Read more about it here.