C o m e to W h e r e the Action Is Glenna James When Eliza Doolittle sang (My Fair Lady) of being sick of words, she claimed there wasn't one she hadn't heard. Well, Eliza, there is one I've heard (read) far too often: 'utilize'. We are confined to a limited vocabulary which should force us to use meaningful, sensible, simple words. Let's be careful not to pollute paragraphs and pages of o u r documentation with pretentious words that a r e unnecessary and a nuisance to the reader. I can't figure out why 'utilize' came on the scene to replace a perfectly respectable three-letter word that everyone had been using for so long. Do you say to your wife (or your husband) over Saturday morning coffee, "Dear, do you need to utilize the car today?" Maybe the letter 'Z', rarely used in o u r language, connotes glamour and mystique. Can it be that a b u r e a u c r a t somewhere in the canyons of governmentese, in an attempt to sound learned, decided to cram all the z's he could into government writings to befuddle the masses? Such chicanery. We continue to use No. 3 blue pencils, and useRolaids for acid indigestion, but for some unfathomable reason we utilize automated systems. We convert nouns to verbs. We 'prlorltize', we ' i n i t i a l ize', we 'dollarize' and we 'maximize' - - we perpetuate a senseless convolution of our language. We turn around and add to the muddle by converting verbs to nouns. Instead of 'use', or indeed, 'utilize', we write " . . . t h e utilization o f . . . " and a steady, monotonous barrage of passive writing abounds. Yes, Eliza, I understand. Can a tech writer in EDP help eradicate the passive, easyto-fall-asleep-by writing surrounding the CPU's and the minis and the software? Since we are people who like words, let us hope. When you see 'utilize', imagine this: "Excuse me, may I utilize your phone?" "Hey Charlie, did you utilize all the COBOL forms?" Are you awake? When we begin a sentence with a noun and add 'ing' to the verb, we get passive writing like this: "Care should be taken when editing the report. " That's passive. That's wordy. But careful now - - you can start the sentence with an active verb and still be too wordy, still diminish the action verb by keeping that silly 'ing'. Such as, "Take care when editing the report." In the interest of simple writing, why not, "Edit the report." Yes, I suggest that the word 'carefully' is unnecessary in the sentence. Let us assume that the reader pays attention to the work carefully without being admonished and insulted. We must think about tight writing. Here's another example of passive writing: "No attention should be paid to the matter." IF it is necessary to instruct the reader not to pay attention to a matter, why not simply write, "Ignore i t , " ? Let's keep it as simple and direct as we can. Are y o u writing procedures, user's guides or instructions in manuals? Begin your sentences with an active verb. It will help you avoid passive writing. Active verbs are action words. Examples: COMPARE the totals SORT the reports REQUEST service EDIT the report MARK the tickets IDENTIFY the labels MOVE the decimal FILE the cards ENTER the codes CHANGE the page numbers ATTACH the documentation LOG the data DISTRIBUTE the mail NOTIFY the data entry clerk FORWARD the correspondence SUBMIT the data VERIFY the amounts . . . . . . . and final ly, USE simple words. - -

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