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I'm new to the techwhirl list service, but I just had to put my
tw-cents' worth into this discussion.
Eric J. Ray wrote:
>Do audience analysis and the writing is easy.
>Don't do audience analysis and the writing is futile.
This sounds like you're so stuck in "focus group" mode that you have
forgotten how to write without it. If the company does not want to do
extensive, or even brief, audience analysis, the answer is to write for
a general audience. This doesn't mean talking down to anyone. It means
writing simply and clearly so that regardless of the extent of a
reader's education (or knowledge in the area that you are documenting),
the reader can understand what you are trying to tell them.
If the reader already knew as much as you do about the product you are
documenting, they wouldn't be reading the instructions, and we would all
be out of work.
Sarah Mayhew Schlosser
Technical Editor
sarah -at- perfnet -dot- com
