A technical writer can use the toolkit to prepare stock phrases for a particular topic (for example on a description of lubrication chart for a new gear developed by a company).
Identify the headwords (gear, lubrication, lubricate). In general, a writer should have an idea of the paragraph to be written and know the main noun (we call it a headword), but may not have a ready list of appropriate adjectives and modifying nouns in mind. This is where the toolkit steps in.
Identify the correct use of various word pairs based on their formulae.
| Formula | Use |
|---|---|
| ADJ + gear | Various adjectives associated with a gear—to describe various types of gears, condition of gears, etc. 
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| gear + N | Nouns which follow the word ‘gear’. Example: gear shift (AmE), gear stick (BrE)
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| P | Phrases in which the word ‘gear’ appears. Example: backlash in a gear
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| P P | Prepositional phrases in which the word ‘gear’ appears. Example: in top gear (right) on top gear (wrong)
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| V + gear | What verbs are commonly associated with ‘gear’ and their correct usage as an incorrect verb would change the meaning of the sentence. Example: Opposite action is described by using the antonyms ‘engage gear’ and ‘disengage gear’.
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