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Subject:Re: Tech Writer's test From:Kris Olberg <KJOlberg -at- AOL -dot- COM> Date:Sun, 17 Dec 1995 13:10:09 -0500
In a message dated 95-12-16 22:42:28 EST, ac158 -at- ccn -dot- cs -dot- dal -dot- ca (Suzanne
Townsend) writes:
>On Sat, 16 Dec 1995, Kris Olberg wrote:
>> I hope your test questions are tongue-in-cheek. Your test is not a test;
>it's
>> a damn obstacle course with a bunch of hidden traps. For the sake of
>> students, I hope you are not asked to teach the class.
>You've GOT to be kidding! Of COURSE he was kidding!
I was not obvious to me at all. I have taken a few tests like this at the
college level. Also, I didn't get any cues from this dry medium of
communication we're using. An emoticon or two would have helped.
One shouldn't be so quick to judge how others should or should not react to
printed communication--in our line of work, that's critical. In this case of
the "tech writer's test," I reacted negatively because it was not obvious to
me that the piece was intended to be humorous. As writers, we need to be
careful to supply the cues necessary to ensure that what we say is not taken
out of context, especially when we use humor.
Regards...Kris
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