The earlier of the preceding articles in this series described the merits of economy and style, but I close with a partially contrary but possibly synoptic observation:

Garner and Harris (1994), in their evaluation of textbook design, identified several features common to poorly rated textbooks: ‘They introduce too many concepts in too few words’, ‘they often contain topically irrelevant information’, and ‘perhaps worst of all, they are anonymously authoritative.’

These comments may, quite feasibly, be equally applicable to other forms of technical communication. As such, they are worthy cautions for technical writers or editors who are indulgent with impertinent subject matter, overenthusiastic with the delete button and thereby imprudently terse, or insensitive to the effects of overusing the passive voice.