TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:RE: Working "with"; working "on" From:"Sean Brierley" <sbrierley -at- Accu-Time -dot- com> To:<techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Mon, 11 Aug 2008 13:37:58 -0400
Based on the original post, I say it all depends on context and I'd not
assume anything. If things are unclear, I'd ask for a clarification. The
only context that would be easy to distinguish would be involving
people: "I'm working with Burt on the new guide," "I'm working on Burt
to get him to help with the new guide."
Cheers,
Sean
___________
Sean Brierley
Technical Writer
www.accu-time.com
-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+sbrierley=accu-time -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
[mailto:techwr-l-bounces+sbrierley=accu-time -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On
Behalf Of McLauchlan, Kevin
Sent: Monday, August 11, 2008 1:30 PM
To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: Working "with"; working "on"
When you hear or read " .. working on <object>...", do you infer a
statement or question about something for which the worker has some
ownership and responsibility?
EXAMPLE: I'm working "on" some images; I am either creating them or
editing them. If somebody needs them, they get them from me when I've
done my thing.
When you hear or read " ... working with <object>...", do you infer a
statement or question about something that is merely available to the
worker, but their ownership or responsibility is for something else?
EXAMPLE: I'm working "with" some images; I am using pre-existing images
available to me to create something else, but I didn't necessarily
create the images, and anybody who needs them isn't expecting me to have
made or edited them (somebody else had that responsibility - I'm just a
beneficiary, in passing).
A Test Engineer asked me a question using the "working on" construction,
and I had a brief "forgot to study for the big test" moment, until I
asked some clarifying questions and reminded myself about something I'd
done two weeks ago. If he'd used the "working with" construction, I
would not have had the same feeling of "have I dropped a ball?", and I
would probably have gotten to what he wanted to know more directly.
Since it was obvious I'd gone off on a tangent as I scrambled to orient
myself to his original question, he asked me if he should have worded it
differently. I began to explain, but then wondered if I'd be giving him
a personal distinction but not a generally held one.
What say ye, O expert ones?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
ComponentOne Doc-To-Help gives you everything you need to author and
publish quality Help, Web, and print content. Perfect for technical
authors, developers, and policy writers. Download a FREE trial. http://www.componentone.com/DocToHelp/
True single source, conditional content, PDF export, modular help.
Help & Manual is the most powerful authoring tool for technical
documentation. Boost your productivity! http://www.helpandmanual.com
---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- web -dot- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-
