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On Mon, Feb 20, 2017 at 8:45 AM, Wright, Lynne <Lynne -dot- Wright -at- kronos -dot- com>
wrote:
> If you can't find any samples of bad tech writing, what you could do is
> take a paragraph from an academic paper that's full of convoluted, jargony
> sentences (in one of the particularly theoretical fields like philosophy,
> film or architectural theory, or anthropology) and re-express the core idea
> in simple terms.
>
> Although if they don't already take your word, as a native English
> speaker, about how to communicate effectively in English, you may never get
> through to them.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: techwr-l-bounces+lynne -dot- wright=kronos -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com [mailto:
> techwr-l-bounces+lynne -dot- wright=kronos -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On Behalf Of
> Zev Levi
> Sent: February-20-17 2:24 AM
> To: techwr-l <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
> Subject: Nightmare Library
>
> Hi all,
>
> I work in a country where English is spoken as a second language (if at
> all) and I often find myself explaining to product managers and developers
> why their documentation ideas are troublesome. ("Yes, the sentence you
> changed is clear to you but, as it's now five lines long, it is confusing
> to readers. We must explain ideas using shorter sentences.")
>
> Is anyone aware of a virtual library of bad-documentation examples (a
> library of tech-doc nightmares)? I'd like to search for *long sentences*
> and find examples of unclear documentation.
>
> It would be easier to convince PMs of writing guidelines if they tried
> reading a doc that didn't follow them.
>
> I haven't had any luck googling these terms; I'm looking for documentation
> examples and google generally returns links to forums.
>
> Cheers
>
> Zev
>
>
> --
>
> *Zev Levi*
>
>
> Technical Writer
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