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Marjorie Herrera
Daniel Powell
ENC 3241
February 6, 2015

Critical Analysis One: Technical Reports

In this critical analysis the reports that will be compared will be The Art of Digital
Publishing: A foundation of combined standards to support the future of publishing written by
Daniel Lynch and Content Conditioning and Distribution for Dynamic Virtual Worlds, written by
Jeffrey Terrace. In this analysis we will compare which author is the stronger communicator also
which author demonstrate a stronger design principle. We will compare each authors approach
to syntax and cadence while also citing a piece of each authors work. We will also compare how
each write excels in their written reports and we will compare which is the stronger report.
Both authors come off as good communicators but one more than the other. Daniel Lynch
began with a great abstract. Just about every sentence was pulled out of his report. Although his
abstract started off as just one long paragraph he used short and concrete sentences. He gave a
small insight into the format the latter parts of his report. His paragraphs were short and made up
of just a few short sentences with the occasional long paragraph. He made references to other
authors that have touched based in one way or another to what he is discussing. He also wrote on
a subject that may interest many of the population being that it touches base on todays
technology and education system. Although I must mention, Jeffrey Terraces opening his
introduction was definitely great. It especially is great for grabbing a readers attention.

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Terrace demonstrated stronger design principles. His report was written as a dissertation
for a doctoral degree. The length of his report was perfect for its purpose. He was able to
determine the amount of knowledge his readers would have in regards to the subject that he was
writing about. In knowing that he was writing a dissertation for a doctoral degree we was able to
research and follow the format and style that was expected of him. Determining the knowledge
of his readers on the subject and following the given format of writing a dissertation were both
part of him adjusting the writing style to the reader, the purpose and the context. Terrace
adjusting the writing style demonstrated stronger design principles.
Lynchs short sentences and short paragraphs help a reader read through the report in a
fluent manner which keep the tone of the report. He gives great examples and uses metaphors to
give great examples. Just as music notation is what enables an orchestra to play in a
synchronized manner, standards can enable us to document science in a harmonious way.
(Lynch, 10). Using metaphors and making examples as the above help the tone of report a bit
less serious and approachable for any reader that is interested and willing to read the report.
The stronger report seems to be The Art of Digital Publishing: A foundation of combined
standards to support the future of publishing written by Daniel Lynch. He pay close attention to
his format. He kept all of his paragraphs short and his sentences were also short but still concrete
making his paragraphs easy to read and comprehend. He makes use of resources that he has at
hand. He makes reference to other published authors within and out of his field of study. He
quotes authors that were published dating back to 1979 and more current authors that were
published in 2006.
In critically analyzing the reports The Art of Digital Publishing: A foundation of
combined standards to support the future of publishing by Daniel Lynch and Content

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Conditioning and Distribution for Dynamic Virtual Worlds written by Jeffrey Terrace we
identified which of the authors was the stronger communicator and which of the authors
demonstrated stronger design principles. We analyzed and identified which author had a better
approach to syntax and cadence within their reports. Finally, we also identified which of the two
was the stronger report.