Re: What to do???

["M Page" <mpage -at- csl -dot- co -dot- uk>]

(Sorry - to chip in late - it's 1st thing in the morning on this side of the
Atlantic.)

I too have worked with enginneers whose technical expertise far exceeds
their grasp of English. I tried to take the role of high priest or shaman
interpretting the cryptic utterances of the gods, which seemed to work
pretty well, though - yes - it can do your head in after a while.

Some suggestions:
*Explain to your boss it takes time, and why: grammer exists in part to lock
out ambiuguities. To correct the grammer you have to first comprehend what
you're reading, which is hard if the grammer is so mutilated as to make
comprehension doubtful. The task is analogous to debugging comment-free code
which has been randomly re-arranged by a five year old.

*Get the engineers to write as little as possible, using numbering, bullets
and arrows - whatever - to convey flow and sequence. That way, they write
less (making them happy, cost-effective, engineers), and you spend less time
wrestling with strange constructions (making you a happy, cost-effective
techwriter).

*Cycle each completed document back to the engineers in editable form,
ostensibly for approval, but actually so they can:
-Use them as a basis for similar output - this will be easier for the
engineers than generic boilerplate because they'll be familiar with the
subject matter.
-Learn by example - but don't tell them that's the idea!

*Keep a file of really amusing errors so you can share the best ones with
your friends...

It all sounds very... anecdotal...
Take care
M

"Wade Courtney" <courtney -at- hsq -dot- com> wrote in message news:217815 -at- techwr-l -dot-  -dot-  -dot- 
>
> Thanks for all of the words of encouragement, wisdom, and support.  I
> will try some of the suggestions that I have read about.  By the way, I
> forgot to mention that I am not only editing it, but also making the
> corrections.
>
> Wade
>
>
>
>



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