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

["Mike Schmidt" <mschmidt -at- weathercentral -dot- tv>]

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
     >
     >
     >
     >
     >
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     >information and are only for the intended recipient 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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