Ryan Simms delivered an inspiring presentation at Build Conference in November talking about practice, the Dreyfus model and even basketball. He touched on the topic of writing, saying:
When I’m thinking about hiring for my team, this [writing] is a really important aspect… Good writers are an apparent and complete sign that they have an organised mind.
This isn’t a new idea, 37signals published a post on this topic in 2005:
If you are trying to decide between a few people to fill your position, always hire the better writer. I don’t care if that person is a designer, programmer, marketer, salesperson, whatever. Assuming your candidates are fairly equally skilled and qualified overall, always hire the better writer. This is especially true with designers since copywriting is interface design.
Writing is an important tool and leveraging it correctly can dictate the success of the message being communicated. As web designers and bloggers we need to possess the ability to write in a coherent and engaging way, whilst ignoring the pitfalls which bestow so many others. Unfortunately, a lot of potentially good writing is let down by simple, avoidable mistakes through carelessness or lack of attention.
Punctuation is as important as what is being said, when it is ignored it results in the reader losing confidence in us as a writer, and more importantly the meaning of our message is misunderstood. Punctuation:
- … helps to establish meaning.
- … is a courtesy towards the reader.
- … provides a level of meaning that, in speech, would be communicated through emphasis, pausing, intonation and pitch.
- … is a consensual code defined by convention, and based on principles of usage.
The following phrase, “a woman without her man is nothing”, is a good example of how punctuation can misconstrue meaning:
- A woman, without her man, is nothing.
- A woman; without her, man is nothing.
For more information on punctuation and grammar see the comprehensive guide on Bristol University’s website.
