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Subject:The Accidental Tech Writer From:Peggy Thompson <Peggy_Thompson -at- CCMAIL -dot- OSTI -dot- GOV> Date:Sat, 28 May 1994 10:13:00 -0400
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I'm another accidental tech writer. I have a 1984 BA in English
lit from a liberal arts college that didn't even have a computer
on campus until the spring I graduated. I learned tech writing
on the job--from how to stick a disk in the drive, to how to
write a computer manual that didn't befuddle users (and I'm no
techie, which I think probably helped). Yes, the ability to
understand, organize, and present is probably innate. And yes,
there's a lot of fine points you can pick up through
conscientious independent study, as Dave Taylor pointed out.
Still, though, I see these tech writing programs offered today
and wonder if I haven't learned what I learned the hard way.
Bottom line: degreed or non-degreed, we're all in this together.
The cross pollination that results from a list like this sure
helps.
