Help a Newbie?

Chris –

I agree, the forums ARE addictive!  When I have the time, I love looking over the posts – when I have something to contribute I respond, and I always learn something new.

Here’s my opinion on your question:  Writing skills are absolutely an important part of instructional design.  That said, no one is perfect at everything, and I think if your writing is good overall but you have a little difficulty with grammar, that’s easy to rectify by having someone review your work before it’s published.  In all the learning departments I’ve worked in/managed, we’ve always had some sort of internal review process.  I’ve worked with some people who were fantastic IDs in a creative sense, but whose writing really needed polishing on every project.  And I’ve worked with people who had excellent writing skills, but who were really lacking in their ability to consider and act upon the needs of their audience.

In the end, it will really depend on the specific positions for which you’re applying.  Some are structured so that the instructional designer is a fully independent jack-of-all-trades; others are structured so that the workflow is more segmented, and each person focuses on what they’re best at; others are set up for a team approach to projects. And of course different companies have different standards for the “perfectness” of the writing in their courses.

Like so many other things, writing skills get better with practice (and feedback!) so that’s a good plan, too.  J

+ 1 for Shelia's post.

I am crap at illustration and drawing - so I have an illustrator.

What I can do is visualise exactly what I want. You can do the same with grammar - you need to visualise the mood, or the clarity of thought that you want to convey, then get someone to help you reach that vision.

Don't let something like a wall be an irritant that gets in the way of your dream - find a way to climb the wall, or just go around it.

Bruce

Thanks for the help guys. 

So should I just be honest with them and tell them or should I just show what I have done already and hope they like it?

You always need to be honest in all business dealings.

When it comes to the bad times, if you have business and personal integrity, you can always get over any problems.

Without it you have nothing.

Bruce

I have found StyleWriter to be a great help! It has made me a much better writer.

If you enjoy instructional design, don't let grammar stop you! Writing properly is a skill that can be learned. Here's the book I recommend: "Woe Is I," by Patricia T. O'Conner. The subtitle is "The Grammarphone's Guide to Better English in Plain English." She writes clearly and with a sense of humor, so this book is easy and fun to read. It's a very handy reference.