Re: Tech writing class

Subject: Re: Tech writing class
From: "Laura A Mac Lemale" <lmaclemale -at- paychex -dot- com>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Tue, 22 May 2001 08:57:41 -0400

Hello,

In the midst of the discussion on tech writing class, Chris <cah_91 -at- yahoo -dot- com> wrote:

"Also, one thing that wasn't mentioned is that you have
to be able to pull information from a busy SME. How do
you teach this? Beats me. But it's a point that has to
come across." <rest snipped to focus on important point>

Great point. That's why critical thinking skills are so important for this type of course. Students need to learn how to research information, how to develop questions that procure the most pertinent information, and how to sift through the details for the real
need-to-know information.

A semester-long research project may not be suitable for an introductory TW course, but a fairly extensive research exercise may be beneficial. Biased by my own experience <of course>, one of the most important things to learn is how to get the information, where to find
it, and how to structure it for end users.

Theory and the basics always have their place in an introductory course, but students need to know how to find the information on their own and not rely solely on SMEs.

Have a great day!
Laura

Laura MacLemale
Technical Writer
Paychex, Inc.
Rochester, NY USA
lmaclemale -at- paychex -dot- com

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this message represent those of the sender and not of Paychex, Inc.



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

*** Deva(tm) Tools for Dreamweaver and Deva(tm) Search ***
Build Contents, Indexes, and Search for Web Sites and Help Systems
Available now at http://www.devahelp.com or info -at- devahelp -dot- com

Sponsored by Information Mapping, Inc., a professional services firm
specializing in Knowledge Management and e-content solutions. See
http://www.infomap.com or 800-463-6627 for more about our solutions.

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


Previous by Author: HUMOR - "Make this Pretty" (lament of a tech writing dept.)
Next by Author: Re: Tech writing class
Previous by Thread: OT: Something to read anytime anyone accuses tech writers of havi ng an easy job
Next by Thread: RE: Tech writing class


What this post helpful? Share it with friends and colleagues:


Sponsored Ads