ANN: Talk in Rochester NY

[Thomas Neuburger <thomasn@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi all,

A quick schedule note for interested STC members. I'm giving a talk on 
quality writing — not metrics, but writing itself — to the Rochester NY STC 
next week.

The info sheet for the event is reproduced below. If you're in the area, I 
hope you will attend.

Best,

Thomas Neuburger

___________________________________

A Writer's Guide to Editing and Layout
Thomas Neuburger

Summary: Quality is a concern to all of us. This talk focuses on two keys 
to increase writing quality — effective self-editing and scannable page 
layout.

Place & Time:
   Tuesday, August 19, 2003
   6:30 ­ 8:30 pm
   Community Room at Brighton Town Hall
   2300 Elmwood Avenue
   Rochester NY

Fee: $10.00 at the door
RSVP: Kathy Wise at 585-453-3361 (w) or 585-352-1367 (h)


More About the Talk

Technical documentation is usually treated as random-access information. 
Readers jump to pages they hope they don't have to read, scan to eliminate 
as many pages as possible, then read the rest as quickly as possible.

Effective technical writing must therefore pass two tests:

  • The "scan" test — Can I see at a glance if this page needs to be read?
  • The "read" test — Do I have to rewrite these sentences in my mind to 
understand them?

If either of these tests fails, the material won't be read. The key to the 
scan test is page layout, organizing the page to make the relationship of 
ideas apparent to the eye. The key to the read test is self-editing, making 
sure each sentence is clear on the first pass. The discussion addresses 
each of these areas, with samples and practical suggestions.


About the Presenter

Thomas Neuburger is a consultant, writer and photographer living in 
Portland, Oregon. Among other works, he has published The Masters Series: 
FrameMaker 6; Mastering FrameMaker 5; Learning the Internet, with Kenn 
Halliwell and others; and Foundation: Building Sentence Skills, a college 
English textbook.

Mr. Neuburger has also taught English & Communications and publishes 
stories and poems.

Mr. Neuburger is available as a consultant to departments and work groups, 
and as an on-call FrameMaker resource, a supplement to Adobe's on-call 
Frame help service.
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