Difference between styles of English in technical communication?

Question

I have a collaborative software project with two other users. Nearly every technical report and documentation written goes through the following editorial changes to some of the sentences (examples below; note the differences in the parts in italics):###User A (original version) 1. Example X _can also be_ written as Y 2. As _is often_ the case, ... 3. Such programs _are generally_ known as ...###User B (revised version) 1. Example X _also can be_ written as Y 2. As _often is_ the case, ... 3. Such programs _generally are_ known as ...Now both users are native speakers of English. As a non-native myself, I'm confused between the right style here. Both seem correct to me, but I couldn't care less either way. The consistency with which the users write these sentences makes me wonder if it is due to US/UK English conventions. An alternative explanation might be the expected style of writing in technical communication.Can someone shed some light on this?

Answer 1

Technical communication conventions are generally as follows:

1. Most Important Ideas are 1st
2. You are writing for the audience. Who are they? What do they need to know?
3. Advanced concepts need to be broken down to meet audience requirements.
4. Single spaces, not double
5. Sentences should be concise, coherent, cohesive and clear.

Generally, the difference between technical communications have more to do with genre (what you are writing), who you are writing for, and your purpose. I find that people who have been trained to do academic writing actually have a hard time switching to a technical communication style, because the writing style is different.

I suspect that both examples are correct, but the better example would need to be chosen based on context, how the ideas fit together.