A good many teachers of technical writing are guilty of blindly following tradition and convention in teaching students to rely on the outline as an organizing device, in categorically condemning the passive voice, in magnifying the importance of form and format, and in insisting on a set of inflexible rules for grammar and style that ignore widespread usage. Implicit in the attack on shibboleths is a plea for honest pragmatism in determining effectiveness in technical writing.
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References
1.
HalversonJohnCooleyMason, Principles of Writing (New York: Macmillan, 1965), p. 93.
2.
AzimovIsaac, The Intelligent Man's Guide to Science (New York: Basic Books, 1960), Vol. II, pp. 473–74.
3.
EvansBergenEvansCornelia, A Dictionary of Contemporary American Usage (New York: Random House, 1957), p. 355.
