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Thursday, Jan. 5, 2006
"Syntax
or Sin Tax:
Which Should an Editor Choose?"
By Valerie M. Ball
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Program
Description
Through interactive writing samples and group-editing discussions,
Valerie demonstrates the editing of the foibles, fallacies,
and fantasies that occur during collisions of diction, tone,
grammar, style, spelling, point of view, punctuation, and
syntax.
Objectives:
- Review and rebuild knowledge in diction, tone, grammar,
style, spelling, point of view, punctuation, and syntax
- Learn about reference books and other resources for technical
communicators
- Participate in self-graded exercises
- Discuss a variety of edits
- Improve basic skills to be more successful in any genre
of communication
- Justify bases for personal/company/client style guides
- Learn how to practice safe serial commas
Bare those pencils and prepare to parse!
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About our Presenter
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Valerie M. Ball, a winner of the Willamette
Valley Distinguished Chapter Service Award in 2005,
also co-edits The Willamette Galley (chapter
newsletter) in Portland, Oregon, and has judged for
the STC International Technical Publications Contest
and the Intel International Science and Engineering
Fair. She presented two papers at the 2003 Region 7
Conference in Calgary and participated in four presentations
at the 52nd Annual STC Conference in Seattle. In previous
lives, she ghost-wrote for an Oregon governor and taught
English at U.S. and Asian universities.
Valerie has been a technical writer for Rockwell Collins
at its Portland site since 2000 and a member of the
WVC STC since 2001. Her education includes a B.A. in
English from the Honors College at the University of
Oregon, an M.A. in English (minor in theatre) from the
University of Colorado, and an M.S. in technical writing
from Portland State University. However, her lessons
from ceramics, design, drawing, Chinese calligraphy,
tea ceremony, ikebana, and the Oregon women's
track team comprise the real glue that holds together
her life.
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