RE: SOAPBOX WARNING - Was RE: Breaking into the tech writing jobmarket

Subject: RE: SOAPBOX WARNING - Was RE: Breaking into the tech writing jobmarket
From: "Mike Schmidt" <mschmidt -at- weathercentral -dot- tv>
To: "Melissa Nelson" <melmis36 -at- hotmail -dot- com>, <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
Date: Wed, 9 Aug 2006 10:11:52 -0500

Again, thank you. You explained what I was trying to say, much better
than I apparently did. I, too, got into this field because of
frustration with manuals. I sold recording equipment and regularly found
myself typing out pages for frustrated customers, rewording it for them.
That was my motivation - to write manuals that people could understand
the first time around.

I quoted either my professor at MSU or my text book (perhaps both) in
that 6th grade thing, but I still hold it to be true. And again, it's
not condescending... Usually.

Personally, I think newspapers are written to a lower grade/age level
than 6th grade and sometimes I DO feel somewhat insulted by the writing
I see there.



-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+mschmidt=weathercentral -dot- tv -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
[mailto:techwr-l-bounces+mschmidt=weathercentral -dot- tv -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com]
On Behalf Of Melissa Nelson
Sent: Wednesday, August 09, 2006 10:04 AM
To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: RE: SOAPBOX WARNING - Was RE: Breaking into the tech writing
jobmarket


I do not know about writing to a grade level, although I do remember
something about that from a tech writing course. I just remember the
KISS
rule from college...Keep it Simple Stupid. I have never viewed that
as
writing down to someone, more as just keeping it as easy to
understand as
possible with what you are writing.

I write with my fiancee in mind. When we were first dating I watched
him get
so frustrated with a car manual while fixing my car that he ripped it
up, damned it to hell and and threw it away. I never want anyone to
damn my
manuals to hell, so I try to make them simple to understand, does not
mean I
make them simple. If that makes sense.

Melissa
______________________________________________________________

From: "Diana Ost" <Diana -dot- Ost -at- msmcorp -dot- com>
To: "Mike Schmidt" <mschmidt -at- weathercentral -dot- tv>,
<techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
Subject: SOAPBOX WARNING - Was RE: Breaking into the tech writing
job
market
Date: Wed, 9 Aug 2006 10:34:23 -0400
>I hope everyone will keep an open mind.....
>
>When I refer to "writing to a # grade level," I am basing that
comment
>on Robert Gunning's Fog Index, as contained in his book "How to
Take the
>Fog Out of Business Writing." The Gunning Fog Index is one of the
>measures included in Microsoft Word's readability statistics.
>
>It is NOT about being condencending or attacking anyone's
intelligence.
>Believe me, when I worked for the medical equipment company that
made
>kidney dialysis machines, when they said they wrote the machine
>instructions at "a *fourth-grade level*" I believed it, because
making
>sure the patient understood the instructions for interfacing that
>machine with their body was critical, to the point of death if
they
>misunderstood what was written.
>
>You could say, "I'm not writing medical stuff, so I don't need to
do
>that." Why make any writing more difficult than necessary?
Technical
>writing by it's very nature is created so that people can solve a
>problem. They *don't* read it for pleasure; they read to find an
answer.
>Why not make that experience as easy as possible for them?
>
>FYI, according to Gunning, here are some grade levels for current
and
>past popular publications:
>
>Reader's Digest - 10
>Time, Newsweek - 11
>Harper's, Atlantic Weekly - 12
>The Bible - 7
>
>
>The AlexanderCommunications.com Web site says this(in their
wonderful
>style guide):
>"Anything beyond grade thirteen will be too difficult for most
readers.
>Most major metropolitan newspapers, for example, are written at
the
> >>sixth grade level<<. [Emphasis mine]. The Wall Street Journal
is
>written at grade twelve. The IRS code is so complex it measures
>'unreadable.'" [No kidding!] (Gunning coached the "Wall Street
Journal"
>staff about writing to an effective grade level (12th grade) for
their
>readers.)
>
>In a study by Donna M. D'Alessandro, MD, Peggy Kingsley, BA, and
Jill
>Johnson-West, MSW, at the Children's Hospital of Iowa University,
they
>determined that "The readability of patient education materials on
the
>Internet is too high for average adults" and said "Such data
should be
>written at the 8th-grade level or lower, the authors said, noting
that
>about **50 percent** of the U.S. population **reads at or below
that
>plateau.**" [Notice 8th grade level OR LOWER]
>
>If you want to read more, or order the book, go here:
>http://www.richardkallan.com/
>
>...putting soapbox away now....
>
>Diana Ost
>Technical Writer/Reporting Analyst
>
>
>
>
>
>This message and any attachments may contain confidential or
privileged
>information and are only for the intended recipient of this
message. If
>you are not the intended recipient, please notify the sender by
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>email or phone, and delete or destroy this and all copies of this
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>
>
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: techwr-l-bounces+diana -dot- ost=msmcorp -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
>[mailto:techwr-l-bounces+diana -dot- ost=msmcorp -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com]
On
>Behalf Of Mike Schmidt
>Sent: Wednesday, August 09, 2006 9:58 AM
>To: Robotti, Anne (Carlin); techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
>Subject: RE: Breaking into the tech writing job market
>
>I'm repeating what I've been taught. It's not condescending at
all. The
>theory is that many don't refer to the manual until they're having
a
>problem (myself included), and at that point, they don't want
wordy,
>grammatically perfect novel writing. They want: "To make it go,
push the
>green button."
>
>My first boss (and mentor in this field) used to write like we was
>writing a novel. Too wordy, too involved, etc. I agree that you
need
>simple, concise, easy-to-read steps. Hence, a 6th grade level.
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From:
techwr-l-bounces+mschmidt=weathercentral -dot- tv -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com

>[mailto:techwr-l-bounces+mschmidt=weathercentral -dot- tv -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com]
>On Behalf Of Robotti, Anne (Carlin)
>Sent: Wednesday, August 09, 2006 8:53 AM
>To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
>Subject: RE: Breaking into the tech writing job market
>
>
> > Something we have a lot of in our audiences. If you remember
your
> > basic intro to tech writing classes, they tell you to write at
about a
>
> > 6th grade level.
>
>I think that's a very condescending and obnoxious thing to say.
And it's
>probably a root cause of the "users is soooooo stupid" attitude
that
>makes a lot of engineers and tech writers unbearable, IMO. If
you're
>writing for adults who are brand new users of a technology or
product,
>you have to be particularly clear about each step, which you
should be
>anyway. There's no reason to term that "a sixth grade level" and
it sets
>up bad karma.
>
>Anne
>
>

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