I think the plain language thing will be hard for me. I like to use big words and I know my sentences go on for longer than they probably should. This has definitely made writing a resume/cover letter in the past challenging so I am excited to see about tips this book has for making it easier to write in plain text. Or any tips about editing things down to become more like plain text. I definitely understand why plain language is more beneficial than super complex language. I just don’t have a lot of practice using it. I am certainly excited to change that and become better at using plain language to better my chances of getting a job. I wonder if the fact that plain language is better to use has anything to do with the fact that literacy and grammar rules are being focused on less in most schools now. The text mentioned how switching to plain language made it so customers called with questions about a product less often. I wonder if that has anything to do with them not knowing the rules of grammar as well as people may have used to so the language needed to be simplified more. Just something to think about.
Category: WRT 233
The intro to this book compares being creative in literature to being creative during surgery. Which I think is a little nuts. I also think we’re using creatively a little liberally here. People will die if the rules of surgery aren’t known. People don’t die if grammar rules aren’t known. I completely understand, and agree, with what the text is saying here. Literacy and being able to write well is extremely important. However I think that comparison is going a little far. The text also says that people with higher literary skills have higher paying jobs than those without literary skills. The implication being that if you’re more literate then you will be paid better. But I wonder what else correlates with literacy skills here. It’s likely people who are more literate have attended more schooling which also tend to give way to higher paying jobs. I’m wondering whether the literacy rates are necessary for a high paying job but not sufficient for one. I completely agree with the idea that literacy and correct grammar are important. I know if I find an error on a company website or advertisement I would lose most, if not all of, my faith in that company to perform well. I just think some of the examples in this introduction are a little extreme. Definitely setting the tone for the book and letting me know just how strongly the author feels about this right off the bat.
