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Subject:Re: What's important From:Matt Ion <soundy -at- NEXTLEVEL -dot- COM> Date:Wed, 25 Jun 1997 20:22:34 -0800
On Wed, 25 Jun 1997 12:21:33 -0400, Bruce Byfield wrote:
>Matt Ion <soundy -at- NEXTLEVEL -dot- COM>
>wrote:
>
>>Yes: they should have passed Grade 12 English, preferably with >at least a B.
>
>
>Hi, Matt:
>
>After seven years of teaching first year English, I have to disagree. In
>my experience, high school English marks are poor indicators of
>anybody's ability to write.
Point taken. However, I reiterate my feeling that attempting technical
writing is specious at best if one doesn't have a TECHNICAL grasp of
the language (things like structure, grammar, speeling, etc.) Okay, I
admit, a twelfth-grade diploma does not necessarily guarantee this...
maybe I was being more figurative than literal.
I myself passed English 12 with a solid B -- comprised of a 60% grade
on the course through the semester (caused by never bothering to do,
let alone turn in, most of the assignments), averaged against a 98%
score on the final exam (here in BC, at least when I was in high school
10 years ago, a government-supplied and mandated final exam was worth
50% of your final mark in senior high [Gr. 10-12] in certain basic
courses, such as English, Algebra... the three 'R's :-).
>The result? Virtually every student who made the effort to overhaul
>their writing habits improved their mark by the end of the class. They
>didn't all become top writers, but they did become better ones.
Writing skills != technical grasp of the language. Neither does a
technical grasp of the language automatically translate into good
writing skills. Either can be taught, and a *successful* writer, IMHO,
should have at least some of both.
Your friend and mine,
Matt
<insert standard disclaimer here>
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