Difference between styles of English in technical communication


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



I don't think any of us can say for sure, but it looks to me like User B is holding fast to the Thou Shalt Not Split Thine Infinitives commandment (hence, don't put an also in the middle of the can be, and don't insert a generally inside the are known).


As for my personal opinion, I think the versions of User A sound more natural, and User B is sacrificing some measure of readability for the sake of adhering to strict grade-school grammar rules. If my theory is right, it might be hard for User B to concede that User A has done a better job with the edits.


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