report writing

[kurt]

Originally posted by SonOfSwamp

[br

Writing an HI book would put one into the same existential fix as the guy sawing off chicken heads at the chicken-processing plant. Work your ass off for a huge amount of time, and all you've got is an infinite number of loose chicken heads on the ground, and an infinite number of crapping-and-flapping chickens waiting to get sent to the neck saw.

WJ[/blue]

I thought that was what DOING home inspections resulted in...............

[Chris Bernhardt]

Would anyone disagree that there are some unique aspects to writing home inspection reports?

Well if not a book, what about a guideline on HI report writing composed of contributions from the TIJ crew? Have you seen more on the subject then whats here on TIJ?

Chris, Oregon

[kurt]

No disagreement. It's a strange gig.

I think you're going about it as smart as anyone I've experienced; you're putting your stuff up and taking a beating on it.

The greatest learning occurs when you're practicing diligently and seem to be getting nowhere.

Bonnie T's contributions @ TIJ are as good (better) as what's happened anywhere else.

Oh, watching how Walter writes. He has a very straight up style.

[Chad Fabry]

Well if not a book, what about a guideline on HI report writing composed of contributions from the TIJ crew? Have you seen more on the subject then than whats here on TIJ?

TIJ is the definitive source for the proper use of language in a home inspection report.

[Chad Fabry]

Oh, watching how Walter writes. He has a very straight up style.

Walter is a pompous ass.

I hate that I agree with more than half of what he says.

[hausdok]

Originally posted by SonOfSwamp

Originally posted by Chad Fabry

Oh, watching how Walter writes. He has a very straight up style.

Walter is a pompous ass.

I hate that I agree with more than half of what he says.

I deny being pompous.

I freely admit to being an ass, in the stubborn sense.

WJid="blue">

You two crack me up.

OT - OF!!!

M.

[Bob White]

[:-graduat[:-graduatWhen I got off to university back in the 70's, my freshman composition prof gave me a C on my first, next, and every future essay for the quarter.

I didn't change for her (she obviously didn't know what she was talking about) , and I ain't changing fer you ...[:-graduat[:-graduat

[Chris Bernhardt]

When I started the only examples I had were those I mined from other HI reports. Only a few HI books as Walter says "brushes up against the subject". I was looking and found nothing so I went on my merry way writing things the only way I knew how using passive voice and we language and writing to defend my self instead of just getting the point across to the client. Only after I joined TIJ that I soon realized "Holy cow Batman" that there are some guys out there who know their expletive deleted.

I have pursued this subject because I intuitively knew how important it was going to be for me, and that it was going to increase my success, which it has. Yea, it's boring but there is obviously some interest in it as these have been some of the fastest growing and most viewed threads at TIJ. I believe I am not the only one who has found the report writing trough empty.

I will keeping pounding away at this subject. I am only getting started.

Chris, Oregon

[kurt]

Originally posted by SonOfSwamp

Originally posted by Chris Bernhardt

Would anyone disagree that there are some unique aspects to writing home inspection reports?

Well if not a book, what about a guideline on HI report writing composed of contributions from the TIJ crew? Have you seen more on the subject then whats here on TIJ?

Chris, Oregon

I taught the ASHI report-writing seminar at IW in 2003. Told 'em everything I know. Use present tense, I said. Use active voice, cite sources, beware of logical breakdowns, don't repeat yourself, watch your verb tense, beware of phrases such as "appears to be," and "monitor," etc. And whatever you do, learn to spell, or at least spell-check.

I even included a handout of helpful writing hints from an 8th-grade English teacher with a Ph.D., because I've often said HIs need to write at the 8th-grade level, and I figured a Ph.D. ought to give a middle-school teacher some cred, even with home inspectors.

All I got was HIs telling me that they knew everything they needed to know about HI reporting; there are lots of ways to skin the writing cat (which is untrue); passive voice sounds "professional;" and, conversational writing (which is what's used in every mainstream shelter publication) sounds "dumb."

Then came the sound of crickets chirping...

There's no re-training a middle-aged writer. That missile has left the silo.

WJid="blue">

I remember that. It was the eye opener for me.

I also remember all the gomer's in the back trying to get into an argument for passive voice; they were getting downright uppity & clench-jawed @ the suggestion one writes in active voice.

They wouldn't hear it. Wouldn't. The missle really has left the silo.

[hausdok]

Hi All,

Not to beat this dead horse again, but Jerry Llewellyn, my old Platoon Sergeant from my first permanent station, just emailed me the following tidbit. I don't know where he got it but he always seems to find the oddest stuff.

Walter is always telling us that home inspectors need to have a 6th grade education. They say that today's students are more educated than years gone by, however, if the info below is any example, it looks like a 6th grade education these days wouldn't have even scratched the surface of what a 6th grader needed to know over a hundred years ago.

I gotta go lie down - I'm feeling pretty dumb right now.

Enjoy

OT - OF!!!

M.

-----------------------------------

What it took to get an 8th grade education in 1895...

Remember when grandparents and great-grandparents stated that they only had an 8th grade education? Well, check this out. Could any of us have passed the 8th grade in 1895?

This is the eighth-grade final exam from 1895 in Salina , Kansas , USA . It was taken from the original document on file at the Smokey Valley Genealogical Society and Library in Salina , and reprinted by the Salina Journal.

8th Grade Final Exam: Salina, KS - 1895

Grammar (Time, one hour)

1. Give nine rules for the use of capital letters.

2. Name the parts of speech and define those that have no modifications.

3. Define verse, stanza and paragraph

4. What are the principal parts of a verb? Give principal parts of 'lie,''play,' and 'run.'

5. Define case; illustrate each case.

6 What is punctuation? Give rules for principal marks of punctuation.

7 - 10. Write a composition of about 150 words and show therein that you understand the practical use of the rules of grammar.

Arithmetic (Time,1 hour 15 minutes)

1. Name and define the Fundamental Rules of Arithmetic.

2. A wagon box is 2 ft. Deep, 10 feet long, and 3 ft. Wide. How many bushels of wheat will it hold?

3. If a load of wheat weighs 3,942 lbs., what is it worth at 50cts/bushel, deducting 1,050 lbs. For tare?

4. District No 33 has a valuation of $35,000. What is the necessary levy to carry on a school seven months at $50 per month, and have $104 for incidentals?

5. Find the cost of 6,720 lbs. Coal at $6.00 per ton.

6. Find the interest of $512.60 for 8 months and 18 days at 7 percent.

7. What is the cost of 40 boards 12 inches wide and 16 ft. Long at $20 per metre?

8. Find bank discount on $300 for 90 days (no grace) at 10 percent.

9. What is the cost of a square farm at $15 per acre, the distance of which is 640 rods?

10. Write a Bank Check, a Promissory Note, and a Receipt

U.S. History (Time, 45 minutes)

1. Give the epochs into which U.S. History is divided

2. Give an account of the discovery of America by Columbus

3. Relate the causes and results of the Revolutionary War.

4. Show the territorial growth of the United States

5. Tell what you can of the history of Kansas .

6. Describe three of the most prominent b attles of the Rebellion.

7. Who were the following: Morse, Whitney, Fulton , Bell , Lincoln , Penn, and Howe?

8. Name event s connected with the following dates: 1607, 1620, 1800, 1849, 1865.

Orthography (Time, one hour)

[Do we even know what this is??]

1. What is meant by the following: alphabet, phonetic, orthography, etymology, syllabication

2. What are elementary sounds? How classified?

3. What are the following, and give examples of each: trigraph, subvocals, diphthong, cognate letters, linguals

4. Give four substitutes for caret 'u.' (HUH?)

5. Give two rules for spelling words with final 'e.' Name two exceptions under each rule.

6. Give two uses of silent letters in spelling. Illustrate each.

7. Define the following prefixes and use in connection with a word: bi, dis-mis, pre, semi, post, non, inter, mono, sup.

8. Mark diacritically and divide into syllables the following, and name the sign that indicates the sound: card, ball, mercy, sir, odd, cell, rise, blood, fare, last.

9. Use the following correctly in sentences: cite, site, sight, fane, fain, feign, vane , vain, vein, raze, raise, rays.

10. Write 10 words frequently mispronounced and indicate pronunciation by use of diacritical marks and by syllabication.

Geography (Time, one hour)

1 What is climate? Upon what does climate depend?

2. How do you account for the extremes of climate in Kansas ?

3. Of what use are rivers? Of what use is the ocean?

4. Describe the mountains of North America

5. Name and describe the following: Monrovia , Odessa , Denver , Manitoba , Hecla , Yukon , St. Helena, Juan Fernandez, Aspinwall and Orinoco .

6. Name and locate the principal trade centers of the U.S.

7. Name all the republics of Europe and give the capital of each.

8. Why is the Atlantic Coast colder than the Pacific in the same latitude?

9. Describe the process by which the water of the ocean returns to the sources of rivers.

10. Describe the movements of the earth. Give the inclination of the earth.

Notice that the exam took FIVE HOURS to complete.

Gives the saying 'He only had an 8th grade education' a whole new meaning, doesn't it?!

Also shows you how poor our education system has become! and, NO! I don't have the answers.