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>> OK, now you're just describing *me*. :-(
> I thought about including a disclaimer that 'any resemblance to a p.o-t
> regular or mascot is purely a coincidence' but decided against it.
Heh. And to think a few people claimed I had writing skills... despite
the fact that I can't spell, can't write a report, and have lousy
sentence construction. :-S
>> I have no idea how to write a report..
> So how did you manage to graduate from university then? Did you not do a
> small research project?
Yes. I failed that particular module...
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andrel <a_l### [at] hotmail com> wrote:
> Apparently the society wants technicians and computer
> science experts that are unable to write. But I don't.
Quite amazingly, this seems to be so even in academic circles. Well,
at least here.
One could assume that a person who graduates as MSc, which requires,
among other things, writing an academic paper (the MSc thesis) on some
subject, would know how to write. It's an academic grade, after all, and
academic reseach is all about writing papers and publications.
But no. Each year hundreds of people get their MSc grade here without
knowing even the basics of proper Finnish or English grammar. Their works
(which have not been spell-checked and beautified by third-parties) are
full of grammatical mistakes and poor language.
Knowing how to write properly (in any language) is not a requisite for
admission in universities of technology, there are no mandatory courses
on academic writing (or any kind of writing), there aren't even optional
courses on writing, and bad grammar and poor writing can never be used
to penalize when grading exams or other types of written work. Basically
you are allowed to write however you want, and you are in no way expected
to be able to write properly.
The only piece of work where some grammar is necessary is the MSc thesis,
but given that there are no requisites nor courses on the subject, they are
very lenient, and they don't mind at all if third-parties spell-check and
beautify MSc theses. In fact, it's a very common practice.
I have always STRONGLY disagreed with this policy, and I have never heard
one single rational reason why this is done, but what can I do? It just is
the way it is.
--
- Warp
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Warp wrote:
> In programming they get a new contract to develop the project further.
LOL. Bingo!
That, and in other situations, nobody makes big changes after the specs
are finished.
SQL Server: Hey, we need to support .NET stored procedures, and XML output.
Downtown: You know, we're glad you finished the 50-story office
building, because now it's full of tenants. But could you add a couple
of stores between 40 and 41? Or at least put another bank of elevators
on the other side of the lobby too? Be sure not to disturb any of the
office work already going on in the building.
--
Darren New / San Diego, CA, USA (PST)
"That's pretty. Where's that?"
"It's the Age of Channelwood."
"We should go there on vacation some time."
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Warp wrote:
> Quite amazingly, this seems to be so even in academic circles. Well,
> at least here.
Yah. And I've found most marketing people, many of whose jobs it is to
write, have little or no grasp of simple things like sentence construction.
It just takes lots of practice and correction. I was fortunate to go to
a grade school (as in, first through 12th grade) where they actually
hammered on you ever single week to get you to improve. You started with
"here's a topic, take it home, and bring back a one-page essay about it
next week." It ended with "take a seat, here's your topic, you have 20
minutes for a 2-page-with-outline essay discussing the topic."
I think the Ph.D. stuff (at least in the USA) is much more about
reading, writing, and presenting than it is about the actual field of
research. Maybe places like MIT teach you more technical stuff in the
PhD degree than the Masters degree, but that isn't the case in any of
the places where I or my friends went.
--
Darren New / San Diego, CA, USA (PST)
"That's pretty. Where's that?"
"It's the Age of Channelwood."
"We should go there on vacation some time."
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47f7dabb$1@news.povray.org...
>>> OK, now you're just describing *me*. :-(
>
>> I thought about including a disclaimer that 'any resemblance to a p.o-t
>> regular or mascot is purely a coincidence' but decided against it.
>
> Heh. And to think a few people claimed I had writing skills... despite the
> fact that I can't spell, can't write a report, and have lousy sentence
> construction. :-S
You *** do *** have writing skills, otherwise people would just skip your
posts and never answer them (even if it's just for snarking). You know how
to tell stories and make them interesting, even ones based on really dull
material. The self-pitying angle comes off pretty well and is somehow
endearing (when it could be horribly annoying), in some Woody Allenesque
way. Also your spelling isn't bad, except for some occasional glaring
lapses. What you may lack is better material to work with and some literary
background to give you inspiration and pointers, but otherwise what your
write is enjoyable.
G.
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Gilles Tran escribió:
> You *** do *** have writing skills, otherwise people would just skip your
> posts and never answer them (even if it's just for snarking). [...]
> but otherwise what your write is enjoyable.
That's why he's our mascot, isn't it? :)
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Gilles Tran wrote:
> What you may lack is better material to work with and some literary
> background to give you inspiration and pointers, but otherwise what your
> write is enjoyable.
Yah, plus your technical writing isn't bad either, from the few snippets
you've posted here when you write about things you enjoy.
You might need some instruction on how to (say) write a report for
management, or something like that, but that's a skill that's relatively
easy to learn with a bit of practice. It *does* take instruction, so you
can't just keep trying an expect to get better without feedback. (Not
unlike resumes, really.)
--
Darren New / San Diego, CA, USA (PST)
"That's pretty. Where's that?"
"It's the Age of Channelwood."
"We should go there on vacation some time."
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Gilles Tran wrote:
> 47f7dabb$1@news.povray.org...
>>>> OK, now you're just describing *me*. :-(
>>> I thought about including a disclaimer that 'any resemblance to a p.o-t
>>> regular or mascot is purely a coincidence' but decided against it.
>> Heh. And to think a few people claimed I had writing skills... despite the
>> fact that I can't spell, can't write a report, and have lousy sentence
>> construction. :-S
>
> You *** do *** have writing skills, otherwise people would just skip your
> posts and never answer them (even if it's just for snarking). You know how
> to tell stories and make them interesting, even ones based on really dull
> material. The self-pitying angle comes off pretty well and is somehow
> endearing (when it could be horribly annoying), in some Woody Allenesque
> way. Also your spelling isn't bad, except for some occasional glaring
> lapses. What you may lack is better material to work with and some literary
> background to give you inspiration and pointers, but otherwise what your
> write is enjoyable.
>
Sure, but this and his blog are something different than a report of a
couple of weeks stay at a research lab. Spelling mistakes and bad
sentences are common in newsgroups because people take too little time
and write too late at night (my god it is nearly 12 already). In blogs
it may depend on the writer, but normally you expect less trivial errors
but allow for structural abnormalities as it is a free form text format.
But if you are unable to construct a logical line of argument in a paper
you can not be a good programmer as the skills required are the same.
That was one of the things the author of 223 meant in his paper, I
think. And if he didn't, let me say it. In summary: yes, I also think
Andy may be a reasonable programmer. ;)
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47F### [at] hotmailcom...
> Sure, but this and his blog are something different than a report of a
> couple of weeks stay at a research lab.
I'm pretty sure that Andy is perfectly able to write a decent report. It's
just that the stuff he has to write about bores him to death so he won't
even try to http://www.google.com/search?q=%22how+to+write+a+report%22 that.
G.
--
**********************
http://www.oyonale.com
**********************
- Graphic experiments
- POV-Ray, Cinema 4D and Poser computer art
- Posters
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Gilles Tran wrote:
> 47F### [at] hotmailcom...
>> Sure, but this and his blog are something different than a report of a
>> couple of weeks stay at a research lab.
>
> I'm pretty sure that Andy is perfectly able to write a decent report.
He said he isn't. So who am I going to believe. In the same vain, I'm
pretty sure that Andy is perfectly able to find a decent girlfriend.
Yet, here the current facts seem to point another way.
> It's just that the stuff he has to write about bores him to death so he
> won't even try to http://www.google.com/search?q=%22how+to+write+a+report%22
> that.
I *have* seem him use google a few times recently. Perhaps he did learn
a few things since leaving university. He may not have been able to
write a report then, but past performance is no guarantee of future
results.
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