Comment by vacri | Hacker News Reader

Comment by vacri | Hacker News Reader

I don't have a horse in this race (no kids), but this call to action bothered me. Lots of run-on sentences; incorrect capitalisation; 'Math' instead of 'maths', 'lite' instead of 'light'[1]; weird double- and triple-spacing; 'Id' instead of 'I'd' grammatical errors; overuse of dashes[2]; using both -ise and -ize endings on the same word (realise); so on and so forth.

On the one hand, I realise that I'm being a bit pedantic, but on the other hand, there were a lot of these errors, in a call to action to allow the author to teach people. Clarity of expression is one thing that is taught in high school, and it's important. I'd want to proofread my article if I was trying to put forward that my ability to teach was decent. The occasional error should be overlooked, but this was pretty sloppy.

If I saw these errors in someone wanting to teach more practical skills rather than abstract ones, I guess they wouldn't stand out so much.

[1] I've lived in that state all my life, and am familiar with the localised terms (lite? yuck) [2] which I frequently abuse myself, to be honest

op, here - yes, you could argue Im not well educated for writing such articles - I was educated in schools not homeschooled :)

Im happy to correct spelling grammar errors - I by no means represent myself as a professional author.

Be aware that 'Math' or 'Maths' can be correct according to where you are [ Ive heard Maths used in Australia, Math used in US, ymmv ]

ps. I really _am_ trying to teach practical skills - for example my videos on multiplication - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAucwKdByrU&t=385s Now you may say they aren't very good .. but thats okay if they help even one student learn math, or open to the idea it might be interesting or understandable by them.

You need to get someone who is good at writing to proofread it and clean it up. Your target audience for this piece is educated administrators, and those mistakes will stand out like dog's balls. They're friction points that should be smoothed out so that they don't distract from your message.

Re: Math/Maths, 'math' is American English, 'maths' is British English. Maybe it's bled through from American textbooks - perhaps go by whatever is on the cover of your son's textbook? Australian English can supposedly use either form, but generally it's considered to be British English, and you should stick to one or the other when you write (ie: don't mix and match).

I perhaps came across more hostile than I intended. It just struck me as notable the difference between the intent of the article and the way it was presented.

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EDIT: I've hit my comment limit, but wanted to respond to your comment with:

On the mixed audience - just remember that your primary audience is Victorian education administrators - they're the ones whose opinions you want to change. Write for your audience in the way that has least friction.

When you mix'n'match British/American English (like realise/realize), you will annoy someone in each camp. If you pick one style and stick to it, it's more coherent and the message content flows more easily. It doesn't make what you say more convincing, but it does reduce potential sticking points that might distract a reader's attention.

Good luck with your efforts. :)

Sorry my bad writing detracts, Ill work on that. I was expecting a mixed AUS/US audience, so used "Math" not "Maths"

I did proofread it thru[through] a couple [of] times myself, but should have had a few friends proofread it and give feedback and fix typos before releasing.

ps. I've given up the local textbooks in favor of the AoPS.com ones, they are vastly superior imo - they just go much more deeply into things like completing the square etc.

Your comments most welcome - I think its an issue worth discussing, even if my writing skills not quite up to the job.

Interchanging Math/Maths doesn't bother me. Leaving off apostrophes from words (Ill, Im, Ive) however is something I find genuinely distracting.

ok, fair enough .. will try to spellcheck more carefully.

Thanks for specifics.

Just one point - "maths" is in fact the correct (local) term in Commonwealth countries - sort of like how they refer to "sport" instead of "sports".

Yep, I think you've read that point the other way around to how I meant it :)

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