The Society for Technical Communication is an individual membership organization dedicated to advancing the arts and sciences of technical communication. It is the largest organization of its type in the world. Its 25,000 members include technical writers and editors, content developers, documentation specialists, technical illustrators, instructional designers, academics, information architects, usability and human factors professionals, visual designers, Web designers and developers, and translators - anyone whose work makes technical information available to those who need it.

The STC Toronto Chapter was founded in 1959 (then the Society of Technical Writers) and is the largest chapter in Canada.

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Special Feature Synagogue, Pond, & Ducks by Barry Clegg

As exercises in creative reading, where only imagination can extract sense from ambiguity, advertisements for real estate provide excellent material. These ingenious little gems of persuasion, though ostensibly written in English, challenge the intellect on four fronts – through use of dubious grammar, dubious punctuation, dubious math, & dubious sense.

Real Estate Agents work under great pressure. There are after all a great many of them competing for our very occasional business. This internecine struggle leads them to treat language with reckless inexactitude.

"The three most important considerations in buying real estate are Location, Location, & Location." Agents are at all times conscious of this trusty truism of the trade. No matter where their property actually stands, they will find a way of describing its location in the most glowing terms.

Here is a home which has been given unique appeal: in a demanding area, close to synagogue, pond, & ducks. It has its peculiar charm, no doubt, but if a demanding area is in any way comparable to a demanding child, who needs it?

In their efforts to satisfy tastes at both ends of the spectrum, Agents strain the very fibres of reason. No car? No problem! Only minutes from subway. Immaculate home with double garage.

For people seeking a new home on retirement, the choice might lie somewhere between the calm of village life and the bustle of a hectic social scene. One Agent has the all-embracing answer: Retire to this busy tourist village. Animal lovers can relax in old Thornhill - walk the dog down tree-lined streets. From what I know of dogs & trees, I’d say a leisurely outing is guaranteed.

A similar satisfaction of extremes is achieved in this home: Hidden away on a quiet cul-de-sac it is surrounded by Warden Subway Station, Woods Mall, green belt ravine park, buses, all schools, and arena.

Publication deadlines often leave little time for the niceties of punctuation in advertising copy. This gives rise to extraordinary concepts like a fully tenanted new gas furnace; for the motoring enthusiast a spacious 4-bedroomed brick double-garage; and for compulsive hoarders who never throw anything out, a home which includes parking five appliances.

Some advertisements are abbreviated to the point of virtual incomprehensibility. No sales here to new Canadians! This lovely t/house has lge. m/b w/ens 4 pc & w/o to deck. Mn. flr. 1dy/den/fam. rm. w/brick f/pl.

Math is another discipline sacrificed on the altar of expediency. 6 room bungalow, 3 bedrooms, 2 kitchens, 2 bathrooms. Sometimes the attempt to quantify is abandoned altogether. Four bedrooms and many baths.

One Agent appeals desperately to the neighbourhood-party type, with a 32x167 ft gas barbecue. Not to worry, though, it comes with a large back yard.

Even the most zealous Agent is sometimes unintentionally candid. Beautifully renovated home, new wiring, new roof, won't last. In another example the difference between renovation & improvement is subtly acknowledged: The present owners have done much of the remodelling of this classic home. Much of the original beauty remains.

Typos torment anyone who uses a keyboard, but Real Estate Agents should proofread with particular care. Sale potential is not improved by describing a property as seami-detached or spilt-level in a grime location.