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Subject:Test assignment for a tech.writer candidate? From:Tony Chung <tonyc -at- tonychung -dot- ca> To:TECHWR-L <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Mon, 8 Dec 2014 08:45:49 -0800
As a "professional interviewer" I have seen a variety of good tests. The
best ones always simulate what the company deals with on a regular basis:
* Translate geek to usable.
* Extract steps embedded in paragraph text.
* Explain a system block diagram.
* Draw a block diagram based on an explanation.
* Identify problems with documentation.
* Describe a process for fixing the documentation problems.
* Explain how stakeholders would be involved.
* Correct second language issues.
* Cases to use active and passive voice.
* Clear structure and concise language.
* An understanding of the technical terms used based on context.
One test I wrote even included a section about naming and providing
examples of specific parts of speech. Apart from teaching English in a
school, I can't see where academic geekiness would even factor into a
professional writing job. Do you really need to know what a pronoun
subject is in order to spot specific usage problems?
Although, I did appreciate how one Techwhirler explained how the -ING form
in headings serves as a gerund rather than a participle form verb.
-Tony
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