MIL-STD-38784A
(M) When reference applies to one sentience use (see igure 2-9 and 2-10), with period outside the
parenthesis. When applies to the entire paragraph and placed after the paragraph after the period, use (See
igure 2-9 and 2-10.) with period inside parenthesis.
4.3.1.1 Duplication of material. Duplication of material within a manual shall be avoided by referencing
unless required for clarity or emphasis.
Print presentation: To avoid duplication of more than two pages, other manuals shall be referenced in
accordance with 4.3.1.m. Except for classiied material, cross referencing is prohibited when material of
two pages or less is involved.
4.3.2 Grammatical person and mood. The second person imperative mood shall be used for procedures, i.e.
"Remove test set from carrying case." Third person indicative mood shall be used for description and
discussion, i.e. "When switch A is in the ON position, lamp (34) lights."
4.3.3 Readability. Unless otherwise speciied (see 6.2.s.) the Reading Grade Level (RGL) shall be nine.
Technical publications shall be written to the capability of the target audience for which they are intended.
4.3.4 Abbreviations/acronyms. Use of abbreviations/acronyms shall be held to a minimum and each shall be
spelled out the irst time it appears in each chapter, section, part, job guide, work package or other division
where confusion may exist or usability would be enhanced. An excellent rule to follow is: "when in
doubt, spell it out." Abbreviations/acronyms which are accepted as words (radar, sonar, laser, etc.) need
not be spelled out. When a phrase is being deined by an acronym, the irst letter of each word shall
be capitalized and elements shall not be separated by periods. For example: Offensive Avionics System
(OAS). Abbreviations/acronyms used shall be in accordance with the requirements of ASME-Y14.38M,
except that abbreviations may be plural (s) or possessive ( s) after the irst use. If a manual is prepared
on composing equipment which cannot produce a certain abbreviation or symbol, such as "±" for
"plus or minus", a substitute symbol, such as "+/-" or "+ or -," or an abbreviation, such as "POM",
may be used. New abbreviations/acronyms shall not be created for words or terms that already have
abbreviations/acronyms established in ASME-Y14.38M. All abbreviations/acronyms used in the manual shall
be explained in the manual s Foreword/Preface/Introduction.
4.3.5 Metric symbols. Metric symbols shall be in accordance with IEEE-ASTM-SI-10 and IEEE 945-1984.
4.3.6 Military terms. Military terms used shall be in accordance with Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) Pub. 1 or
any dictionary or glossary of military terms of the appropriate Service.
4.3.7 Automatic electronic test and checkout terminology. Terms used for automatic electronic test and
checkout shall be in accordance with MIL-STD-1309.
4.3.8 Use of "shall", "will", "should" and "may". Use "shall" whenever a manual expresses a provision
that is binding. Use "should" and "may" whenever it is necessary to express nonmandatory provisions.
"Will" may be used to express a declaration of purpose. It may be necessary to use "will" in cases where
simple futurity is required, e.g. "Power for the meter will be supplied by the ship."
4.3.9 Tables charts and graphs. Reference data (other than illustrations, drawings, diagrams) shall be
presented in tabular, chart or graph form. Any other type of data which lends itself to tabular, chart or
graph form may also be so presented. Tables, charts and graphs shall be so designed that they are easily
understood. Charts shall be presented as tables or illustrations, whichever is most appropriate. Graphs shall
be considered illustrations, and be assigned igure numbers.
4.3.9.1 Tabular material. When a small amount of tabular information is to be inserted, and will not require
referencing from adjacent text, it may be included within a paragraph of text without identifying it as a table.
4.3.10 Warnings, cautions and notes. See 3.2.36, 3.2.4 and 3.2.24. Unless otherwise speciied (see 6.2.t.)
warnings and cautions for primary sidehead paragraphs shall precede the text but follow the paragraph
headings to which they apply. For all subordinate sideheads and procedural steps, the warning or caution
shall precede the paragraph or step. Notes may precede or follow applicable text, depending upon the
material to be highlighted. Warnings, cautions and notes shall not contain procedural steps nor shall the
headings be numbered. When a warning, caution or note consists of two or more paragraphs the heading
WARNING, CAUTION, NOTE shall not be repeated above each paragraph. If it is necessary to precede a
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