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Subject:Re: Grammar vs Content From:Tim Giles <tgiles -at- GSVMS2 -dot- CC -dot- GASOU -dot- EDU> Date:Fri, 10 Feb 1995 15:05:49 -0500
As a teacher of technical writing, I've been watching with interest the
discussion of grammar versus content since it's an area of dissent in
composition studies. Do we teach students to think/write and ignore
grammar, or do we ignore the thinking aspect of writing and teach them
grammatical competence? My technical writing students, who are technology
majors at Georgia Southern University, always want to know if grammar
counts, and I tell them that it does, and furthermore that grammar skills are
something they can learn in college where they have access to English
teachers. On the other hand, content/audience awareness are primnary factors
that can't be ingored for a document to succeed. I'd be interested in hearing
any "real world/horror" stories/anecdotes I take to them about professional
writing. Technology majors, by the way, differ only from graduates of
engineering
programs in that it takes them longer to be certified as engineers.
Tim Giles
tgiles -at- gsvms2 -dot- cc -dot- gasou -dot- edu
