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Write in the second person (you, rather than he, she, or they)

Appropriate: Insert the CD.

Less appropriate: The learner should now insert the CD. (Also notice that writing in the second person is briefer.)

Use sentence fragments

Appropriate: Correct.

Less appropriate: The response is not correct. (A single word is correct. You don’t need to please your seventh grade English teacher by writing out a full sentence.)

Precisely use words.

Following are some common words that are interchanged. But on closer inspection, they don't really mean the same thing and should only be used for the meaning intended.

• While and although. While refers to time, although does not.
• Since and because. Although used interchangeably, since really means after. If you do not mean after, you should use the word because.
• Execute, to refer to running a program. Because execute often has a stronger meaning, the word run is usually preferred.

Write tightly--that is, by using more precise nouns and verbs and avoiding redundancies, you can avoid unnecessary words