5 ASSUME NOTHING
Assumptions are bad for technical writing. Just because you know something doesn’t mean that the reader does.
If we write content based on the assumption that our reader knows something and our reader doesn’t, then our content could be completely incomprehensible to them.
The big danger of assumptions is that if the reader doesn’t know or doesn’t fully understand what you’re talking about, then the information you’re trying to pass on won’t be passed on.
MAKING ASSUMPTIONS
Here’s a great example. If you show a photograph of a floppy disk to young people, many of them will think you’re showing them a photo of a 3D-printed ‘Save’ icon. They’re too young to have encountered floppies.
It’s a funny story, and true. But I’m also ...
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