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Subject:Re: Really caring about communication From:"Bonnie Granat" <bgranat -at- granatedit -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Tue, 30 Dec 2003 12:00:27 -0500
John Posada wrote:
> Of course I do.
>
> Besides, we're all friends here, aren't we?.
>
Sometimes I wonder. ; )
Our job is to communicate content. It doesn't need to be said over and
over that the content has to be correct -- that is assumed.
The content has to be correct.
Nobody is suggesting otherwise.
Nobody has EVER suggested otherwise.
For a writer, content is not "more important" than grammar. Don was
right: grammar (which is the codeword for "using the language
properly" is the cornerstone of our field.
Here is why I think this is so:
We are like building contractors, not like architects.
This is what I mean:
- We take the raw material -- the content that is designed by
another -- and we craft its meaning into a message to our audience.
- We respect the integrity of the raw material -- the content -- and
we don't mess it up. We don't pollute it, we don't alter it, we don't
do anything that will change its essential nature. If we do any of
those things, the building we construct will collapse. Content is --
in a sense -- sacred. It can mean life or death, as we all know too
well. So, if we are adults working the field of technical writing, we
know that keeping the absolute pristine technical accuracy of the
content is our responsibility. It really goes without saying. If it
doesn't, something is serious wrong in the world. ; )
- We construct a building (a message to our audience) using the
content. We carefully handle the content, but our real skill is in how
we construct our building (our message to our audience). Without skill
in constructing our message, we have a building that is technically
pristine, but incomprehensible.
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