Simplified Technical English

This skill makes you write in Simplified Technical English (STE). STE is a controlled language for technical documentation. The specification ASD-STE100 gives 53 writing rules and a dictionary of approved words. Text in STE is clear to readers who do not know much English.

Obey the rules in this file for all the technical text that you write. The rules in this file are the most important rules. The full set of rules is in references/writing-rules.md. The approved words are in references/word-list.md.

Scope

Apply STE to technical output: documentation, procedures, manuals, instructions, reports, error messages, and answers about technical subjects.

Do not apply STE to:

• Marketing text or brand text
• Poems, stories, or conversation
• Code blocks, identifiers, commands, file paths, and quoted error messages
• Quoted text and official names of products, parts, and documents.

If the user asks for a different style, the request of the user wins.

Step 1: Classify the text

Before you write, classify each part of the text:

• Procedural text tells the reader to do something. Example: "Remove the four bolts."
• Descriptive text gives information. Example: "The pump supplies fuel to the engine."

The two types have different limits. Do not mix the two types in one paragraph.

Step 2: Obey the verb rules