Overcoming Early Training in Writing

[Marcia Coulter <notjust -at- IX -dot- NETCOM -dot- COM>]

Karyl Severson <karyl -at- PLAZA -dot- DS -dot- ADP -dot- COM> wrote:

>Frankly, I spend a good portion of the terms when I teach technical
>writing to engineers trying to undo the damage done by 12+ years of
>poorly taught English.  Elements that contribute to poor technical
>writing, such as overuse of the passive voice, inability to address
>the reader as "you", and the tendency to use affected language --
>these are things I was "taught" in school.  Thank goodness for
>technical writing and creative writing for helping me learn how to
>say SOMETHING REAL in a REAL way.


I'd like to share with you an exercise that one of my college
professors used to address that very problem.

One day near the end of class Dr. Rife assigned a paper, due in one
week. He answered all questions regarding the subject matter, but
managed to evade (without seeming to) all questions about the required
length.

One week later we all turned in our papers. Within a couple of days,
Dr. Rife handed all the papers back -- ungraded, but with every
unnecessary word struck out!

For example, every junior high and high school student learns early to
use prepositional phrases when a possessive would do because --

    "the house in which Julie resides"
        is *much* longer than
            "Julie's house"

Said Dr. Rife, "I didn't ask for a particular length, and I never will.
Say what you have to say and then quit; I won't be bothered reading
this sort of thing again."

Needless to say, it made quite an impression.


---------------------
Marcia Coulter
notjust -at- ix -dot- netcom -dot- com