Discusses some of the relationships between rhetoric and the concepts of leadership and the "polis" (the active assembly of citizens empowered to discuss and make public policy). Argues that the study of leadership belongs in composition, rhetoric, and communication and that scholars and teachers are more than justified in studying leadership and…

Supplements existing rhetorical scholarship by returning to the notion of invention as general preparation of the communicator. Explores the need for invention in technical communication and summarizes Kenneth Burke's theories of dialectic and rhetoric. Presents strategies for invention, and offers advice for incorporating them into teaching…

Demonstrates the advantage of students creating their own Web pages to enhance their awareness of the importance of rhetorical organization. Discusses linking functions, the importance of effective page design, and the kinds of structures and relationships existing within and between information. Compares hypertext writing to regular writing. (CR)

Argues that examining leaders and leadership techniques is a valid subject for technical and professional writing and communication classes. Describes an assignment for studying leadership and provides related instructional materials. (CR)

States that service learning educates students to volunteer their expertise for the benefit of society. Suggests that teachers of business and technical writing can apply this pedagogy by assigning students to write for nonprofits. Describes service learning's origins; proposes a rationale for it; explains sequential projects and teaching methods…

Describes a class designed to make Hungarian students familiar with written genres in which abstracting plays an important role--students get theoretical background by abstracting lectures and analyzing appropriate chapters of technical writing textbooks, paying attention to objectivity and structure of the abstract. Advocates using such methods…

States that group class exercises have the potential to provide important lessons for business education students. Describes organizational communication and marketing classes that applied team formation and team-building exercises to enrich the team experience and differentiate it from typical group work. (PA)

Advances the idea that storyboarding, long associated with scriptwriting, advertising, and more recently with technical manuals, can be successfully applied to an even broader variety of technical documents. Applies storyboarding techniques to designing technical proposals to suggest methods of incorporating more visuals into documents, as well as…

Argues that a checklist of what is required can help clarify the demands of writing and turn them into manageable items or practice units. Notes that skills involved in designing and applying checklists resemble those required for dealing with writing tasks on campus and/or at work. Focuses on using checklists to improve report writing. Discusses…

Suggests that technical communication teachers view sales proposals as aimed toward the construction and maintenance of long-term relationships. States that hermeneutic theory offers technical communication instructors a valuable perspective from which to teach sales proposal writing because it can help clarify the process by which "ethical…

Describes a report writing unit that is part of a three-year language/communication course for second language engineering students at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa. States that the tasks motivated the students to develop their report writing and oral skills. (RS)

Notes that students new to technical writing frequently have difficulty grasping the essentiality of technical definitions and learning how to create appropriate definitions. Suggests that exercises centered around a term that is lapsing into obsolescence offer some productive solutions to this common instructional problem. (RS)

Describes three writing assignments (on a scientist, a topic in science, and a topic in technical communication) that help technical writing students develop their technical backgrounds, familiarity with reference materials, peer editing skills, and writing skills. (RS)

Reports on an attempt to organize a collaborative writing project with two teams of graduate students. Concludes that despite the professional level of the students, they, like undergraduates, need structure and guidance throughout the collaborative process, including journal checks, conferences, and self- and group-assessment tools. (TB)

Offers a plan for teaching the strategies and procedures of preparing oral presentations over two class sessions, using a combination of lectures, videos, discussions, self-assessments, simulations, and peer evaluations. (SR)