Re: What to look for in a technical editor

[jenny_berger -at- fairfieldresidential -dot- com]

Some additional info concerning Guy's rebuttal to Andrew's assertion that 
everyone learned grammar skills in public school:

Newsday: Whatever Happened to Grammar?
http://www.newsday.com/features/ny-p2cover3260385may01,0,7731937.story?coll=ny%2Dfeatures%2Dspan

This article basically talks about how teaching grammar as a matter of 
course in US public schools is slowly making a comeback, after (at least) 
20 years of being omitted from curricula because it was believed to be too 
restrictive and that it inhibited children's creativity. Hmmm, where have 
I heard that one before...?

As Guy said, if you're over 30, chances are you learned grammar in school. 
I'm 33, so I caught the tail end of that "3 R's" era. But many didn't and 
I'd bet that some in that group are now tech writers. At any rate, if 
you're including American tech writers in any assertion about when and how 
grammar/language skills are acquired (if they're acquired at all), you 
better be up-to-date on the education news and resist the temptation to 
blanket the entire community with your personal assumptions.

Lovingly,


Jenny Berger
Technical Writer
Information Systems
Fairfield Residential





guy <guy -at- hiskeyboard -dot- com>
Sent by: bounce-techwr-l-115343 -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
05/21/2003 12:32 PM
Please respond to guy

 
        To:     "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
        cc: 
        Subject:        Re: What to look for in a technical editor



Andrew Plato wrote:
   . . .

> We all learned grammar and language skills in grade school. 
 > Some people are obviously better than others at language
 > skills, but every single person in the world who has attended
 > grade school has language and grammar skills. Thus, language
> skills are common and easily acquired. 

You assume too much, Andrew.  Those of us of a certain age may have 
learned basic grammar and language skills in at least junior high and 
high school, but persons younger than 30 probably have not.  At least, 
not in the U.S. Remember being graded on content AND mechanics?  Gone.



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