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A little bit of grammar knowledge never hurt anyone. Having said that,
numerous studies have concluded that there is no correlation at all between
grammar knowledge and effective technical communications. In fact, too much
grammar knowledge can actually hinder communication.
Geoff Hart responded:
You couldn't produce actual citations for any of those "numerous studies"
last time you made these indefensible claims, and I doubt you'll be able to
produce them this time either.......
Tony Markatos responds:
1.) I got those facts from a book on writing procedures. I did not post the
book's name and authors, but another listerv member did. I do not remember
title and authors (other than that the authors were consultants out of the
Battelle Laboratory who had investigated the 3-Mile Island Incident). I
don't feel like "digging-up" the book again.
2.) After I first posted the above facts, I got numerous (non-listserv)
E-Mail responses agreeing with them (including several from individuals with
doctoral level degrees in English and linguistics). A couple respondents
did mention something about grammar being some sort of Technical Writer
"sacred cow".
Tony Markatos
(tonymar -at- hotmail -dot- com)
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