Re: Does a rhetorical question need a '?'

["Chris Christner" <cchris -at- toptechwriter -dot- us>]

Hi Lori,

You may have misread what I wrote. A rhetorical question only makes sense
if the reader already understands the subject matter well enough to catch
your meaning. So if Johan begins his explanation with an RQ, he will be
addressing people who didn't know the subject matter (else why would he be
explaining?), which could lead to confusion. I think rhetorical questions
are fine stylistic techniques if you're trying to *convince* somebody to
agree with you about something. Otherwise, they're tricky.

--Chris

Lori wrote:
> I would say otherwise.  True, you don't want to overuse them, but a
> rhetorical question can add greatly to an explanation.  It gives the
> reader a chance to consider what he's just read.  Plus, it makes the text

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Now Shipping -- WebWorks ePublisher Pro for Word! Easily create online
Help. And online anything else. Redesigned interface with a new
project-based workflow. Try it today! http://www.webworks.com/techwr-l

Doc-To-Help 2005 now has RoboHelp Converter and HTML Source: Author 
content and configure Help in MS Word or any HTML editor. No 
proprietary editor! *August release. http://www.componentone.com/TECHWRL/DocToHelp2005

---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as:
archiver -at- techwr-l -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Send administrative questions to lisa -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-  Visit
http://www.techwr-l.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.