5 exercises — using 'refers to' vs 'is', defining acronyms, appositive clauses, relative clauses, and parenthetical definitions.
0 / 5 completed
1 / 5
Choose the most precise way to define a technical term in formal documentation: "A mutex _____ a synchronisation primitive that prevents concurrent access."
"Refers to" is preferred in formal technical documentation over "is just" (informal) or "could be" (vague). It signals a precise, definitional relationship rather than a casual equation.
2 / 5
Which sentence correctly introduces an acronym for the first time?
Expand the acronym in parentheses immediately after its first use: "CI (Continuous Integration)". This follows IEEE and Google style guide conventions for technical writing.
3 / 5
Complete the sentence using an appositive clause: "We use Redis, _____, to cache session tokens."
An appositive clause — "an in-memory data store" — directly follows the noun it defines, without a relative pronoun. It is concise and integrates smoothly into the sentence.
4 / 5
Choose the best relative clause to embed a definition: "The load balancer _____ traffic evenly across servers."
A non-restrictive relative clause uses ", which..." (with commas) to add a definition without implying the noun needs narrowing. "That" introduces restrictive clauses and should not be set off by commas.
5 / 5
Which uses a parenthetical definition correctly?
Parenthetical definitions appear in round brackets directly after the term. The definition should be a concise noun phrase: "(the volume of data processed per unit time)". Dashes work too but parentheses are standard in documentation.