5 exercises — using 'It is worth noting that…', 'It has been found that…', 'It is recommended that…' and other IT-extraposition forms for formal technical recommendations and findings.
0 / 5 completed
1 / 5
A technical report states: "_____ worth noting that this behaviour only occurs when the connection pool is exhausted." Which IT-extraposition construction correctly fills the blank?
Option B is correct."It is worth noting that…" is a fixed IT-extraposition construction where "it" is a dummy subject (also called a preparatory "it"). The real subject is the following "that" clause. "There is" (option A) introduces existential constructions ("there is a problem"), not evaluative ones. "This is" (option C) is a demonstrative — "this is worth noting" is valid but would require "this" to have a clear antecedent. "That is" (option D) is used for identification ("that is the issue") not for evaluative extraposition.
2 / 5
An RFC recommendation section states: "_____ recommended that all implementations validate the Content-Type header before processing the request body." Which construction is most appropriate for formal technical recommendations?
Option A is correct."It is recommended that…" is the standard IT-extraposition form for formal technical recommendations in RFCs, specifications, and standards documents. The construction depersonalises the recommendation (no "we" or "I"), which is appropriate for normative RFC language (RFC 2119 uses "SHOULD" and "MUST" but surrounding prose uses passive constructions). "We recommend" (option B) is acceptable in blog posts and internal docs but is too personal for formal standards. "It has been recommended" (option C) implies the recommendation pre-dates this document.
3 / 5
A performance report states: "It has been found that query response times degrade significantly above 10,000 concurrent connections." What function does "it has been found that" serve here?
Option B is correct.IT-extraposition ("it has been found that…") moves the main propositional content ("query response times degrade…") to the end of the sentence, foregrounding the evidential frame ("it has been found"). This is a deliberate rhetorical choice in technical reports: it signals that the finding is empirically grounded before stating the finding itself. This is distinct from a cleft sentence, which emphasises a specific element ("it was 10,000 connections that caused the degradation"). IT-extraposition is formal and appropriate in performance reports and research summaries.
4 / 5
Which sentence best uses IT-extraposition to emphasise that a configuration change is essential in an operational runbook?
Option B is correct."It is essential to…" uses IT-extraposition with an evaluative adjective ("essential") to give extra weight to the instruction. The construction "It is [adjective] to [verb]" is a formal IT-extraposition pattern that foregrounds the writer's evaluation before the action. Option A is a standard subject-predicate sentence — grammatically correct but less emphatic. Option C ("needs to be increased") uses passive voice without the evaluative weight. Option D is a direct imperative — appropriate for step-by-step instructions but does not signal criticality.
5 / 5
A design document states: "It should be noted that the current implementation does not support concurrent writes." A technical editor suggests this is weak. What would be a stronger, more direct alternative?
Option A is correct."Note:" followed by the direct statement is more concise and actionable. "It should be noted that…" is a hedged, bureaucratic form of IT-extraposition that adds words without adding information. Technical writing style guides (Google, Microsoft) recommend replacing "it should be noted that X" with direct statements or labelled callouts. "It must be noted" (option B) is stronger but still uses the same wordy construction. Option D is a parenthetical insertion — grammatically valid but awkward. Use IT-extraposition for formal recommendations; for warnings and notes, use direct callout formatting.