Re: Technical writing in a higher ed environment

[Al Geist <al -dot- geist -at- geistassociates -dot- com>]

You are absolutely right.  The AP style guide, like all other guides, 
are just that...suggestions on how things should be done in order to 
bring consistency in particular sections of the writing world.  The AP 
Style Guide is for reporters, or anyone submitting material to AP, or 
most print magazines.  It is not a guide for material submitted to 
scientific journals.  Clarity to the audience is the most important 
aspect.  In that sense. a good writer really doesn't follow any 
regimented style because clarity flows naturally.  It's how they view 
the subject and how they analyze it internally.  Worrying about placing 
a comma before the and in the last element of a series is getting bogged 
down on the trivial.   I've worked as a general reporter, business 
reporter, science editor, technical writer/editor/manager (more years at 
this than the others), video script writer/producer and marketing 
writer.  Each has it's own little set of rules, but all have one main 
criteria....good writing.  As a manager, I would rather have a good 
writer who follows the AP Style Guide than a lousy writer who can quote 
me the Chicago Manual of Style backwards.

Gene Kim-Eng wrote: