RE: "and then," or simply "then"?

["Bonnie Granat" <bgranat -at- granatedit -dot- com>]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: 
> techwr-l-bounces+bgranat=granatedit -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com 
> [mailto:techwr-l-bounces+bgranat=granatedit -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l
> .com] On Behalf Of Gordon McLean
> Sent: Tuesday, September 23, 2008 3:39 AM
> To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
> Subject: RE: "and then," or simply "then"?
> 
> Catering for the "semi-literate"? Is that such a bad thing?

I wouldn't call it that, actually. But refusing to learn and abide by the
rules of a language while operating in the culture that uses that language,
because one is simply stubborn and lazy, marks a person as intellectually
deficient, among other things .

> 
> Before you all leap on this I'll quote from a recent 
> presentation I heard (at the UA Conference) by Prof. Geoffrey 
> Pullum, who knows a bit about grammar and stuff...
> 

The argument from authority doesn't work here for me. 

> "Basically you are all good writers. You know what reads well 
> and you know how to write it."
> 

He's feeding you a line so that you will like him. Either that or he's not
read most of what passes for technical writing these days.

> With that in mind I think Apple have the correct approach. It 
> scans just as easily TO THE USERS OF THAT PRODUCT with or 
> without the 'and'. 
> 

One either participates responsibly in the use of a language like an adult,
or one stubbornly sticks to one's guns for infantile reasons. Something's
very wrong in the mind of a person who can kiss off grammatical rules so
cavalierly and demand that people not notice. In the end, literate people
shake their heads and lament that universities are producing such
blockheads.


Bonnie Granat
http://www.GranatEdit.com




^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

ComponentOne Doc-To-Help gives you everything you need to author and 
publish quality Help, Web, and print content. Perfect for technical 
authors, developers, and policy writers. Download a FREE trial.
http://www.componentone.com/DocToHelp/

True single source, conditional content, PDF export, modular help.
Help & Manual is the most powerful authoring tool for technical
documentation. Boost your productivity! http://www.helpandmanual.com

---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- web -dot- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- 

To unsubscribe send a blank email to 
techwr-l-unsubscribe -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
or visit http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/options/techwr-l/archive%40web.techwr-l.com


To subscribe, send a blank email to techwr-l-join -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com

Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-  Visit
http://www.techwr-l.com/ for more resources and info.