These tips do not attempt to cover the most common English usage and composition errors. The Elements of Style is indispensable for anyone whose task is to write clear English. While the rules presented here are inspired by, and often reiterate, rules and concepts from The Elements of Style , their focus is primarily toward writing clear documentation for computer software, or anything equivalently technical. Be assertive Do not speak in a weak, indefinite, or probable way. This is so common an error it is worth repeating here with some examples.
Active voice means engaging the subject of a sentence with an active verb.
The opposite, passive voice, usually involves saying that the subject constantly is doing some infinitive action. The standard convention for product management is to provide a series of tabbed management screens. Here are the same sentences speaking in active voice. Remember, ZPublisher refuses to publish any method that lacks a doc string. Tabbed management screens provide a standard convention for product management.