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Subject:RE: Yahoo has no staff tech writers From:"Dick Margulis " <margulis -at- mail -dot- fiam -dot- net> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Thu, 10 Oct 2002 16:30:49 -0400
John Posada <JPosada -at- book -dot- com> wrote:
>
>You have a writer...his grammar skills are poor. Not so bad that it
>interferes with the reader's understanding, but obviously not up to par.
>
>However, s/he writes instructions that make the gods weep. Every single step
>is clear, unambiguous, and helpful.
This assertion is inconsistent with the hypothesis that the grammer skills are poor. If the instructions are clear and unambiguous, then they are likely as grammatical as they need to be.
The stuff is turned in on time and the
>SMEs like him/her.
>
>What do you do?
>
What I do in that case is run the output past a gonzo copyeditor who can whip it into shape in one quick pass. (In my case, I use me for stuff other people write and I use someone else for stuff I write.)
If there are enough errors (grammar, punctuation, spelling, usage, whatever) that the average reader is going to notice the problem, then it is worth the time to do a one-pass edit. The idea is not to achieve perfection (seldom possible in one pass). The idea is to cut the noise down to an acceptable level.
I tell people that I can catch about 90% of the errors in one pass. If they give me something with ten minor errors, it will probably leave my desk with one minor error. If they give me something with 100 glaring errors, it may still have ten when I finish that first pass. If there is time for a second pass, the odds go up.
This is all in an environment where good enough is good enough. Nobody here is aiming for perfection.
Dick
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