Writing Tips

Precision in Meaning

Writers and editors need to be sensitive not only to the grammatical and stylistic accuracy of written materials, but also to precision in meaning. As light summer entertainment, consider this first draft of an error message for a business computer application:

You don't have enough memory to complete this operation.

While the description might accurately apply to some of the program's users, the vendor should avoid taking such a broad swipe at its user community!

Yes, it's an unintentional gaffe; and, yes, most users will chuckle at it (or perhaps not notice that anything is amiss). But some will take offense and may consequently form an ill opinion of the vendor or the product.

It takes a sharp eye and brain to catch these small improprieties. Look for them especially in cases such as the one illustrated above, where a product user ("you") is being equated with a product (in this case, the computer). Make the statement as precise as possible:

Your computer doesn't have enough memory to complete this operation.

OR (better)

This operation can't be completed within the available computer memory.