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I did not define structured writing - I said that it
does not exist. Analysis exists - espcially
structured analysis, and writing exits. But I have
found no evidence that structured writing exists as a
seperate entity.
David, when you state that your company does
"...analysis, or structured writing..." you are
essentially equating analysis with structured writing.
If structured writing exists, then there has to be
something to it other than saying it is the same thing
as analysis.
I have been watching this discussion and have to
agree with Dick.
In one sentence below you define structured writing.
Analyzing the steps required to perform some procedure
and then putting
them down on paper in the proper order.
Then you say "Structured WRITING (again, outside of
minor formatting considerations) does not exist."
You can't have it both ways. Either structured writing
exists or
doesn't.
We go into the lab and work through procedures, and in
many
cases, work directly with the customer SMEs to
ensure that we aren't missing any steps that the field
techs may need (the customer SMEs 'know' how their
field techs actually perform the procedures, or at
least how they should be performing the procedures).
This is the analysis, or structured writing, part.
Putting it on paper and making it look pretty, is only
window dressing.
> Tony Markos stated:
>
> I had previously asked on this listserv if strutured
> WRITING existed
> (outside of formatting considerations
> - a relatively minor thing). I specifically asked
> what were the
> concrete, specific steps involved in structured
> writing. I got none -
> only a couple of comments that it is basically a
> mysterious,
> illdefinable black art that "ya just gotta know".
>
> Addtionally, a fair amount of research on my part
> revealed nothing more
> than loosey-goosey sound bites as to what structured
> writing is - no
> concrete, specific steps.
>
>I did read (pretty sure on InfoMapping web site)
> that Charles Horn
> (structured writing guru) says that structured
> writing is really all
> about analysis. I also read this on other web sites
> - which,
> additionally stated that actual writing is but a
> small part of
> structured writing.
>
>
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