Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2004/06/24

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Subject: [Leica] RE: While it is happening (B. D. Colen)writing goingdwnhll
From: bdcolen at earthlink.net (B. D. Colen)
Date: Thu Jun 24 09:28:02 2004

That's a problem I run into - 'don't give us long sentences - give us
bullet points.' :-)

-----Original Message-----
From: lug-bounces+bdcolen=earthlink.net@leica-users.org
[mailto:lug-bounces+bdcolen=earthlink.net@leica-users.org] On Behalf Of
Dan C
Sent: Thursday, June 24, 2004 11:17 AM
To: Leica Users Group
Subject: RE: [Leica] RE: While it is happening (B. D. Colen)writing
goingdwnhll


In business school, and in the real world of business, my reports were
always criticized for being too complex.  I was told to make my
sentences
shorter.   There was even a software program that could analyze a report
and declare what grade level of education was required to fully
understand it, the presumption being that the score shouldn't be too
high.

-dan c.



At 09:49 AM 24-06-04 -0400, B. D. Colen wrote:
>I can't disagree with the premise that the skills we value change - but
>- by any measure I've seen, our society is scientifically illiterate 
>when compared to others in which there is universal schooling. And I'm 
>not bemoaning the decline of writing skills from the perspective of a 
>journalist, but rather from that of a citizen who believes that if we 
>cannot communicate clearly, we are ultimately doomed as a society. The 
>brilliant scientist who cannot convey his brilliance to others is far 
>less likely to find sufficient funding for his work than the scientist 
>who can communicate clearly - in writing and verbally.
>
>I tell the students in my undergrad science news writing class that I 
>know full well very few of them will ever write a news story after 
>leaving the class, and the few who do - because they work on the school

>paper - won't after graduating because they'll be headed for careers in

>the sciences. However, the skills they acquire in reducing a scientific

>journal report to a 350 word news story will help them in whatever they

>do in the future.
>
>B. D.

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Replies: Reply from ljkapner at cox.net (Leonard J Kapner) ([Leica] RE: While it is happening (B. D. Colen)writing goingdwnhll)
In reply to: Message from leicaman at sympatico.ca (Dan C) ([Leica] RE: While it is happening (B. D. Colen)writing goingdwnhll)