Documenting procedures very well is an important concern for technology educators and students alike. Good documentation--a thorough conveyance of thoughts and processes--is a skill that can set the students above others as they enter the competitive technological workforce. In this article, the author explores how writing and documenting could be…

In this article, the author describes Stafford Technical Center's Engineering Technology Academy (ETA), in which students pursue a variety of educational and career options for anything connected to construction technologies--including drafting and design, architecture, and even work in historic preservation. In addition to technical skills,…

The teaching of highly valued scientific writing skills in the first year of university is challenging. This report describes the design, implementation, and evaluation of a novel written assignment, "The Personal Response" and accompanying Peer Review, in the course, Human Biology (BIOL1015) at The University of Queensland. These assignments were…

Many business and technical writing students find classroom discussions of professional ethics interesting and enjoyable. However, when trying to incorporate the content of discussions directly into their writing practices, they often experience difficulties linking ethical concepts to writing process. This article discusses how instructors can…

Research was conducted to test the assumption that technical writers compose as other writers do. Information was gathered through questionnaires and interviews surveying 70 writers--technical writing students, students working part-time in industry, university professors, and engineers and researchers working full-time in industry. The results…

Describes the methods a scientist employs in his scientific writing. (DD)

Urges popular science writers to reduce vocabulary to a level that can be comprehended by the average reader. (DD)

Describes the job of a technical editor. (MKM)

Argues a different interpretation of the data presented in William E. Rivers' article (v2 n1); specifically, that more English departments prefer candidates with preparation in composition than Rivers concludes. Concludes that training in composition and rhetoric is more appropriate than training in literature for business and technical writing…

Facilitates students' writing for completeness, objectivity, and tact with an assignment to write a memo or letter to two or more people with different interests in the information. (MS)

Offers suggestions for writing trip reports that communicate the usefulness of the trip. (JAD)

Argues that business communication should encourage the use of plain language while breaking down the ideas that it is unprofessional to write in clear prose and that it is safer to keep prose muddy so as to avoid controversy in an organization. (SRT)

Suggests that combining business and technical writing, teaching aggressively functional writing, and designing contextual writing assignments are effective means of bridging the gap between writing instruction and writing practice in the workplace. (Author/CH)

Presents three comments on David Dobrin's article, "Is Technical Writing Particularly Objective?" and Dobrin's response. (FL)

Discusses the characteristics of a proposal generated from within a company--its focus on content, narrow arguments, and audience consideration. Describes four possible responses to internal proposals, constructing them on a grid, and offers strategies to meet the most difficult response. (HTH)