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Topic : How should I handle repeating parts in a technical description? I'm about to write a technical description for an industrial process. The description will follow logical blocks, or blocks from - selfpublishingguru.com

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I'm about to write a technical description for an industrial process. The description will follow logical blocks, or blocks from the PFD of the process. This a sales document aimed at engineers. Because of the sales aspect, I need should emphasize all the elements that make us unique. Several parts will repeat throughout the plant, other parts I need to describe that can hardly be placed in one specific logical block - like interconnecting pipework or control.

My idea is to describe components when they first show up as a subchapter of the block they are in, and reference this subchapter when a component shows up in another block. Is there a better way to do this?

Edit to add: An alternative would be to have the component descriptions in every place the component shows up. Some would be repeated two or three times. This would pad the document. The pro would be that a reader who just looks up one part of the process does not need to jump around the whole text, but I would have to trust my readers to skip the parts they already read elsewhere. What to do?

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You say it's a sales document, aimed at engineers. In that case, describing every part of your process in detail -- including the non-unique ones -- seems to me both unnecessary and counterproductive. Your readers will get bored out of their minds, will start skimming through your document, and will probably miss the unique aspects of your process. Result: no sale.

My advice is to have an executive summary of the process at the front, in which only YOUR unique stuff is detailed. Everything else in the process would be described as succinctly as possible. Then, the main body of your document would repeat the process description, but explaining all parts of the process (although still highlighting your unique stuff).

A glossary of terms is also a good idea. In the text, use a different font for terms in the glossary, so readers know they've got help if they want it.

p.s. My primary job is scientist/engineer.

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