3 ms·

This is one of my first posts, and English is not my native language, so comments not just on the content but also on the language are more than welcome.

danso 13y ago
Speaking for myself in the U.S., the need to learn a new language other than English has become such an edge case that I always marvel when non-native English speakers put their work out for us to judge. Your writing is clear...more importantly, you have a great grasp of how to visually partition your essay, a skill that many writers, native English or not, could improve on. Great submission, even if I'd like Java to be less prominent :)
- eranation 13y ago
  Thanks! :-)
dwyer 13y ago
In that case, "Why it saves you time?" should be "How does it save you time?" That was the only line in the piece that screamed "non-native English speaker" to me.
- eranation 13y ago
  Much appreciated, thanks!
cpeterso 13y ago
I was impressed by your clear writing. Some minor suggestions since you asked for feedback: <:) * "mandatory requirement" is redundant. If something's not mandatory, then it's not a requirement! :) * "Many admit that as much as Java is not much fun to write code with, the JVM is a different story.": This sentence is awkward. Perhaps something like: "Many admit Java code is not much fun to write, but the JVM doesn't limit your choice of language." * "Scala shares the Java Technology Stack, and knowing Java is a big plus when learning Scala, especially due to the common library ecosystem, and the insights into the JVM workings.": This sentence is awkward. It could be simplified into something like: "Knowing Java is a big plus when learning Scala because the languages share a common library ecosystem." If you are interested in more resources about English writing, I recommend Joseph M. Williams' Style: Toward Clarity and Grace. Strunk & White's Elements of Style is a classic (and short), but some people dislike it.
- eranation 13y ago
  Great feedback, I will certainly look up these books, thanks!
  - cpeterso 13y ago
    btw, Elements of Style is a very short book (~26 pages) and early editions are available online: https://courses.washington.edu/b572/public/StrunkWhite.pdf https://courses.washington.edu/b572/public/StrunkWhite.pdf
    - twic 13y ago
      It's also not very good: http://chronicle.com/article/50-Years-of-Stupid-Grammar/25497 http://chronicle.com/article/50-Years-of-Stupid-Grammar/2549...

danso 13y ago

Speaking for myself in the U.S., the need to learn a new language other than English has become such an edge case that I always marvel when non-native English speakers put their work out for us to judge. Your writing is clear...more importantly, you have a great grasp of how to visually partition your essay, a skill that many writers, native English or not, could improve on. Great submission, even if I'd like Java to be less prominent :)

eranation 13y ago
Thanks! :-)

dwyer 13y ago

In that case, "Why it saves you time?" should be "How does it save you time?" That was the only line in the piece that screamed "non-native English speaker" to me.

eranation 13y ago
Much appreciated, thanks!

cpeterso 13y ago

I was impressed by your clear writing. Some minor suggestions since you asked for feedback: <:) * "mandatory requirement" is redundant. If something's not mandatory, then it's not a requirement! :) * "Many admit that as much as Java is not much fun to write code with, the JVM is a different story.": This sentence is awkward. Perhaps something like: "Many admit Java code is not much fun to write, but the JVM doesn't limit your choice of language." * "Scala shares the Java Technology Stack, and knowing Java is a big plus when learning Scala, especially due to the common library ecosystem, and the insights into the JVM workings.": This sentence is awkward. It could be simplified into something like: "Knowing Java is a big plus when learning Scala because the languages share a common library ecosystem." If you are interested in more resources about English writing, I recommend Joseph M. Williams' Style: Toward Clarity and Grace. Strunk & White's Elements of Style is a classic (and short), but some people dislike it.

eranation 13y ago
Great feedback, I will certainly look up these books, thanks!
- cpeterso 13y ago
  btw, Elements of Style is a very short book (~26 pages) and early editions are available online: https://courses.washington.edu/b572/public/StrunkWhite.pdf https://courses.washington.edu/b572/public/StrunkWhite.pdf
  - twic 13y ago
    It's also not very good: http://chronicle.com/article/50-Years-of-Stupid-Grammar/25497 http://chronicle.com/article/50-Years-of-Stupid-Grammar/2549...