Comments on: #FridayFact: There Are Lots of Bad Ideas About Writing

By: Kimberly

Kimberly — Tue, 27 Mar 2018 01:55:28 +0000

The misconception that I related to the most was “Strong Writers and Writing Don’t Need Revision” which I have experienced in 2 different areas: my professional and academic careers. There are have been many individuals that I have encountered in both areas that do not put any real thought into what they are writing or who they are writing for simply because they are able to put the thoughts in their heads into words in an email, report, paper, or any other type of document. As someone who is puts a fair amount of thought into how things read and sound to others, this annoys me. Especially in a field that is heavily reliant on communication and where that communication isn’t always pleasant to send.

By: Faizal+Zulkifli

Faizal+Zulkifli — Mon, 26 Mar 2018 22:55:40 +0000

From my personal opinion, I have not found the ideas given to me before as bad ones just that it may not be suitable for a specific case so the mistake is usually when an idea is generalized or been set as a rule like what the passage above suggested. One of those ideas is when they say that writing a draft should have no revision at all. I understand that a draft should be a free flow of ideas without any sort of blockage but I feel that we should at least proofread it once before giving to others for review to make sure we are in the right track. All the details may not need to be take into attention yet at this stage but things such as headings and main contents should be made sure it is consistent with the assignment requirements.

By: Mariel+Jastrebsky

Mariel+Jastrebsky — Sun, 25 Mar 2018 14:42:19 +0000

I agree with you. I think a lot of times people can be too technical in their email writing and it provides more confusion rather than clarity. It’s important to be able to explain what you need in a formal manner without having to be technical because it deters people from wanting to ask questions because they feel like they should already know it.

By: Danielle Lehman

Danielle Lehman — Sat, 24 Mar 2018 13:57:48 +0000

During my summer internship I recognized that when it comes to writing reports about an infrastructure project, sometimes my coworkers and other companies that we worked with had a bad technical writing technique. A lot of times when I would read through the report, I realized that it was all super technical and some of the information was beyond my comprehension. I understand that most of the people reading the report have a lot of experience in the field. However, I feel like most times the client might not be able to understand all the technical aspect of the report because after all they most likely aren’t a Civil Engineer. So this is a similar situation to what Mark was talking about. I feel like the report should be “dumbed” down a little bit, in order for people who do not have a Civil Engineering background can have a better understand of the information that was found about an infrastructure.

By: tengrrl

tengrrl — Sat, 24 Mar 2018 00:12:05 +0000

Excellent to hear that you have had Dr. Dufour! I hoped some of you would recognize the name. Pomdoro is a great technique.

By: Katie

Katie — Fri, 23 Mar 2018 18:56:30 +0000

I have had Dr. Dufour for a couple of history classes, so I have heard these ideas first-hand from the author herself! In my writing for her class, I have definitely tried to follow what she espouses in this chapter. The pomodoro method is one–writing in short, focused chunks of time (she briefly mentioned this in the piece). I also have found the draft method something that has stuck with me–don’t be afraid to show people a messy product. I’ve used that advice in this class, spending more time on ideas and avoiding a perfectly polished first draft. I think these (and the other ideas, these were just examples) have a place in technical writing as well as literature. I have used them both in my co-op/internships in the workplace, and have found a distinct advantage over those who do not.

By: Mark+Marut

Mark+Marut — Fri, 23 Mar 2018 16:12:58 +0000

This may not be related to physical writing, but it is more related to speech and public speaking, obviously there is a skill in itself to be able to come up with words in your head on the spot, and be able to deliver an idea in front of an audience. My example relates to when I coached summer swim during highschool. There were multiple coaches I worked with during the 4 years I was coaching, and a major problem I had with some of the coaches was that they did not know how to talk to children. As a coach you are working with 5-18 year olds, so depending on which group you are working with, you have to explain techniques differently, and use different language when talking to 18 year olds compared to 8 year olds. One of the coaches would know how to communicate with the older kids, but a lot of the younger kids would not listen/understand what he was trying to say.

He would just use language he would use with his friends, instead of “dumbing” down and using gestures to communicate technique skills. Additionally, using examples that kids could relate to instead of examples that only older kids could relate to. This is a bad idea because you should not think that one speech can only relate to a specific group of people. The same message can be relayed to different audiences by changing small details in the delivery.