La révision de textes procuraux

Résumé En

Franck GANIER: La révision de textes procéduraux The aim of this paper is to show that procedural texts offer an interesting genre for studying revision processes in writing and for applying research results to help technical writers to revise their texts. Indeed, because such texts require their readers to follow procedures successfully, technical writers have to produce efficient documents. Research on revision generally shows that the efficiency of revision is related to the use of appropriate methods. Technical writers, however, are not always completely successful •perhaps because they are not always aware of some particular methods. Indeed, the pragmatic function of procedural documents makes it essential to revise them. Thus, a study of users’ behavior can help reveal the efficiency •or inefficiency •of procedural documents. Such studies can be used to evaluate different versions of the text as they are revised. This paper aims to provide links between procedural texts and revision processes, as well as describing the problems usually met by technical writers when they are writing and revising such documents. It concludes with a number of suggestions for aiding revision.