What is elegant to a technical communicator, would you say? Is that something different than what your current or future profession subscbribes to?
I like Albert Einstein's quote in chapter 10 about keeping things simple. I think clear and concise is "elegant" to a TC, and I appreciate a nice turn of phrase (mostly that I find in novels and not in TC). Sometimes when I read those novels, I write down sentences I especially like. My family thinks I'm a bit odd at times. :)
The idea of "simple" with TC goes against the world of academese in many situations. It also often goes against what many in the business world use, which is where I sit now. I often find myself trying to read through convoluted e-mails where the writer either assumes I already know much of what the message is about and leaves off too much information, or one that gives me puffed up vocabulary that is unnecessary, I think in an attempt to sound "intelligent." I would love to have a day where I red-line e-mails that are convoluted and messy and just send them back to the writer, refusing to answer the questions until I get the text in a more clear and concise way. :) And, I wonder how long I might keep my current job with that approach. I guess I'm not really that brave.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
There is an aesthetic, I always say, to clarity. I suppose that's why I'm in TCR. There is certainly an ethic, as we talked about in our last class. Writing, ultimately, is a craft--it's making things fit while thinking about everything else that is to come in the writing. There is TC, but then there is R; knowing when to comment and how to comment is rhetorical.
ReplyDeleteI don't think it is odd at all that you write down phrases from books. I have been dying to share the neat paper that I edited today about synthesis of artificial blood vessels, but my husband's eyes start glazing over on me.
ReplyDeleteI do find it helpful to work with student writing by asking them to revise and resubmit. In a way, I think it makes them see I value my role as their teacher and expands their view of audience (yes, I really read every word of the essay and take seriously what it says). But I suppose many of your work emails aren't training to become better writers! In this business world, it seems like your role as writer and reader is different. How do you think your role is different?
ReplyDelete