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Common bugs in writing (2021)

cs.columbia.edu

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Re: Common bugs in writing (2021)

#21

Post by skilled »

coliveira wrote: post #20
3pt14159 wrote: post #5

I'm a little perplexed as to why professors and other academic staff have routinely hard to read websites. Yes I'm aware I can bump up the font size, but especially on mobile that gets annoying. It's one thing if they don't have a stylesheet what so ever, it's a fully another thing to intentionally make things hard to read: font-family: arial,verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small; From an article that expressly advoca…

Because they have better things to do than tinkering with the latest HTML technology.

  font-size: 1.2rem;
that is considered the latest HTML technology?

Re: Common bugs in writing (2021)

#22

Post by layer8 »

3pt14159 wrote: post #5

I'm a little perplexed as to why professors and other academic staff have routinely hard to read websites. Yes I'm aware I can bump up the font size, but especially on mobile that gets annoying. It's one thing if they don't have a stylesheet what so ever, it's a fully another thing to intentionally make things hard to read: font-family: arial,verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small; From an article that expressly advoca…

"Internet Explorer is a popular web browser. The current version number is 5.0." might explain it.

Re: Common bugs in writing (2021)

#23

Post by mtlynch »

bogtog wrote: post #18

On a somewhat different note, does anybody have suggestions on books/videos to help learn thoroughly grammar? My PhD advisor sometimes uses words like "past participle", and I just nod along as though I understand what he is referring to. I have an eBook of Strunk & White sitting around, but I figured it was more about general good writing than grammar specifically.

Strunk & White doesn't really cover grammar if I recall.

I like The Bedford Handbook by Diana Hacker. I had to buy it for a course in college, and I've found it to be a helpful reference for grammar rules. The explanations are clear, and there are helpful examples for each concept.

Re: Common bugs in writing (2021)

#24

Post by ReactiveJelly »

JoshTriplett wrote: post #8

> If you find yourself saying "In other words," it means you didn't say it clearly enough the first time. Go back and rewrite the first attempt. Sometimes, particularly in didactic material, it helps to explain things in more than one way, as different people may find different explanations helpful.

Is that why those "explained at five different level" videos on YouTube are popular?

Re: Common bugs in writing (2021)

#25

Post by ReactiveJelly »

mo_42 wrote: post #11

When I was doing my PhD, I was really in love with such guides. There is also the book Bugs in Writing by Lyn Dupré. Looking back I'm not so sure about the utility in scientific writing. Every research community has its own jargon. If don't stick to it, you're going to have a hard time. Today, I very much enjoy these again because most writing happens in a blog. I would add to that list (not original from me): - Dang…

Longer than when it's not a Saturday

Re: Common bugs in writing (2021)

#26

Post by tmoertel »

JoshTriplett wrote: post #8

> If you find yourself saying "In other words," it means you didn't say it clearly enough the first time. Go back and rewrite the first attempt. Sometimes, particularly in didactic material, it helps to explain things in more than one way, as different people may find different explanations helpful.

Agreed! When writing about challenging technical subjects, we ought to realize that a reader may not fully grasp one explanation, even if it's written clearly. Buttressing it from another angle can reconnect the reader with the intended meaning. For example, pairing formal and informal takes on a point seems to work well.

Re: Common bugs in writing (2021)

#27

Post by ajkjk »

coliveira wrote: post #19
bogtog wrote: post #18

On a somewhat different note, does anybody have suggestions on books/videos to help learn thoroughly grammar? My PhD advisor sometimes uses words like "past participle", and I just nod along as though I understand what he is referring to. I have an eBook of Strunk & White sitting around, but I figured it was more about general good writing than grammar specifically.

Take a class on English grammar. This is a solved problem.

But they asked about books and videos.

Re: Common bugs in writing (2021)

#30

Post by ape4 »

bradrn wrote: post #7

> Avoid use of passive tense if at all possible. Example: "In each reservation request message, a refresh interval used by the sender is included." reads better and shorter as "Each ... message includes ..." To which I submit the following article as a rebuttal: http://www.lel.ed.ac.uk/~gpullum/passive_loathing.html . Oh well, at least this person seems somewhat more consistent than most in following his own rule.

There must be places for reasonable use of the passive. Not everything is advertising copy.
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