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Subject:Re: Non-technical, Technical Writers From:"John J. Gardiner" <jgard -at- POP -dot- SLIP -dot- NET> Date:Sun, 10 May 1998 12:11:44 -0700
At 01:52 PM 5/10/98 -0500, you wrote:
>If you don't know how something works, how, pray tell, can you tell me how
>it works?
>Technical writer is two words. You need to be both to be a good one.
Isn't there a distinction, however, between how knowing how something works
and knowing how to use it?
I am a skilled automobile driver, and as a writer, I could write a clear,
organized manual on how to operate my car and provide basic maintenance. I
have little knowledge of the internal workings of its combustion engines
though.
As a technical writer, I am clearly unqualified to write a repair manual,
but am quite qualified to write a operator's manual.
John J. Gardiner - Technical Writer
On-Line Help * User Guides * Documentation
HTML * Graphic Design
e-mail: jgard -at- slip -dot- net
