Writing for computer
science
Ch3. Style specifics
Irina Sokolova
2008.10.04
Contents
 Spelling conventions
 Jargon
 Cliché and idiom
 Foreign words
 Overuse of words
 Padding
 Plurals
 Abbreviations
 Acronyms
 Sexism
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Spelling conventions
The English-speaking countries have different
spelling conventions. The most important discrepancy in
spelling is between Britain and the United States.
The best authority for national spelling is usually a
respectable dictionary written for that country.
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Jargon
The word "jargon" means terms used in a
specialized vocabulary or mode of speech familiar only to
a group or profession. As such, the use of jargon is an
important part of scientific.
Jargon does not have to consist of obscure terms,
indeed it can be at its most confusing when words in
common use are given a new meaning; and some words
have multiple meanings.
New jargon inevitably arises in the research process,
as ideas are debated and simple labels attached to
newly familiar concepts.
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Cliché and idiom
Some expressions are cliché, that is, stock phrases
whose meaning has a little relationship to their words.
Many readers, especially those from other cultures, may
misunderstand such phrases. Examples include:
 “follow suit”;
 “up to scratch”.
Idiomatic phrases are also poor. Example:
 “lose track”;
 “monkey see, monkey do”.
Do not use such phrases.
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Foreign words
Sometimes at a writing of clause or documents use of
foreign words is necessary. The use of foreign words
very difficultly for understanding, therefore is necessary
to use English equivalents.
For example:
Some writers feel that use of foreign words is
demandedde
byrigueur
etiquette because it lends the work a certain
difficulty
explained
je ne sais
quoi
knowledge of rules of
and shows savoir-vivre.
a good form of etiquette.
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Foreign words
Latin expressions - the group of foreign words which
is usually used in the technical letter or the
documentation.
Examples:
 mutatis mutandis (making necessary changes);
 prima facie (presence of sufficient proofs);
 circa (approximately);
 mea culpa (fault).
Such phrases are not universally understood, and should
only be used if you are confident of the meaning.
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Overuse of words
Repetition of a word is annoying when it makes
the reader feel they have read the same phrase twice, or
have read a phrase and an inversion of it.
 Ada was used for this project because the underlying
operating system is implemented in Ada. (Wrong)
 Ada was used for this project because it is the
language used for implementation of the underlying
operating system. (Correct)
Try to not use a phrase: so, also, note that, thus
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Padding
Padding is the use of pedantic phrases such as “the fact
that” or “in general”, which should be deleted, not least
because they are irritating.
There are three form:
1) Padding
2) Concept of quantity – the phrase “a number of”,
“several”, “many”.
3) Adjectives
Use minimum numbers of this words.
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Plurals
When describing classes of things, excessive use of
plurals can be confusing.
The use of variant plurals is becoming less common.
Where once it was thought correct to base the plural
form on that of the language of the root of the word,
now it is almost always acceptable to use "-s" or "-es".
Thus "schemata" can be "schemas", "indices" can
be "indexes", and "formulae" can be "formulas". (But
"radii" is not yet "radiuses" nor is "matrices" "matrixes".)
Special cases remain, in particular where the plural form
has replaced the singular as in "data", and in old-English
forms such as "children".
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Abbreviations
It is often tempting to use abbreviations such as
"no.", "i.e.", "e.g.", "c.f.", and "w.r.t."
These save a little space on the page, but slow
readers down, particularly those whose first language is
not English. It is almost always desirable to expand
these abbreviations, to "number", "that is", "for
example", "compared with" and "with respect to", or
synonyms of these expressions. Where such
abbreviations are used, the punctuation should be as if
the expanded form were used.
Avoid use of "etc."
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Abbreviations
The ellipsis is a useful notation for indicating that
text has been omitted. It should, therefore, only be used
in quotations.
A slash, also known as a virgule or solidus, is often
used for abbreviation, as in "save time and/or space" or
"used for list/tree processing".
Use of slashes betrays confusion, since it is often
not clear whether the intended meaning is or (in the
usual English sense of either but not both), or (in the
usual computing sense of either or both), and, or also. If
you want to be clear, don't use slashes.
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Acronyms
In technical documents with many compound terms
it can be helpful to use acronyms, but as with
abbreviations they can confuse the reader.
An acronym is desirable if it replaces an otherwise
indigestible name such as
"pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis"
(miner's black lung disease), in which case the acronym
becomes the name—as has happened for DNA.
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Acronyms
Abbreviations are terminated by a stop but it is
unusual to put stops in acronyms. Thus
 "CPU" is correct,
 "C.P.U." is acceptable but pedantic,
 "CPU." is incorrect.
Plurals of acronyms don't require an apostrophe;
write "CPUs" rather than "CPU's".
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Sexism
Form of expression than unnecessarily specify
gender are widely regarded as sexist. In technical writing,
sexist usage is easy to avoid.
A user may be disconnected when he makes a
mistake. (Wrong)
A user may be disconnected when they makes a
mistake. (Correct)
Remember that some readers find use of “he” and
“she” for a genetic case offensive and dislike writing that
employs such usage.
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