Chapter 2 · Practice 3 of 4
Use one term for one thing, and define it once
Why it matters
Google's course asks writers to use terminology, including abbreviations and acronyms, consistently. In a technical document, a new word signals a new concept. If you call the same thing a "job", a "task" and a "worker" in three paragraphs, readers will assume there are three things.
Practical habits:
- Pick one name for each concept and keep it.
- Define abbreviations on first use: "service level objective (SLO)".
- Match the code: if the class is
OrderBatch, do not call it a "bundle" in the docs. - Keep a glossary for a large project and link to it.
Do
- Use the same names as the code
- Define each acronym the first time
Avoid
- Switching synonyms for variety, as you might in an essay