Re: PHD in Tech writing

Subject: Re: PHD in Tech writing
From: "Andrea Brundt" <andrea_w_brundt -at- hotmail -dot- com>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Tue, 9 Sep 2003 10:32:09 -0400

Andrew Plato wrote:

"I disagree. Good decisions about documents come from a profound
understanding of the subject matter. You could know every writing and
communication theory in the entire universe, but if you don't understand
the content of a document, you'll never, ever be able to defend your
decisions with any degree of credibility. Theory is not a replacement for
practical application. It can help, but its never a replacement."

Have another look at what I wrote. I didn't say that theory is a replacement
for practical application, or that understanding the content of a document
was optional. I did say that one of the most valuable qualities in a writer
is the ability to defend a writing decision, and that a person can't do so
without understanding the theory behind the practical application.

All the technical knowledge in the universe, while impressive on a CV, won't
make a person a good tech writer if they don't know (from study or
experience or divine intervantion) how to write. Both are important -- but
let's not argue which is more important, unless we're also going to argue
which side of a dollar bill we could safely dispose of. :)

Andrea






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