Re: Tech writer who can't write a resume

[Lisa Leone <lisa -at- GORDIAN -dot- COM>]

Karen Mayer writes:

>  your claim that a GOOD writer should have experience in more than one
>  genre *seems to imply* that a GOOD tech writer should be able to write
>  anything *well*

That's not what I said, nor is it what I meant to imply. A good writer is
one that explores different rhetorical situations (whether voluntarily or
involuntarily) and learns more about the whole craft of writing. A good
writer may not be able to write award-winning pieces in all genres, but he
or she could make a respectable stab. All genres require certain
fundamental abilities that include (but are not limited to) analyzing the
rhetorical situation, learning the subject matter, selecting the
appropriate style and tone, and clearly communicating ideas to an audience.


> how can you make a reasonable claim that if he or she cannot
> write a good resume, he or she cannot possibly write a good manual?

I agree that you should be able to write well in your chosen genre and you
don't expressly need to write well in the others. However, I think it's
quite reasonable to assume that a person who can't write a good resume
can't write a good manual. A sloppy resume always indicates sloppy writing.
Am I the only person who feels this way?

>  Resumes=apples, other types of writing=oranges.

I think it's more like "resumes = one type of apple, other types of writing
= other types of apples."


-Lisa