Analyzes ambiguity as a factor in Japanese language and culture as they affect technical communication. Presents and interprets results of a survey of Japanese and U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists concerning the kinds of communication products they produce and use and their ideas of what should be taught in technical communication courses.…

Studies use of a restricted language, Simplified English (SE), to write procedural documents for specific audiences. Examines the effect of type (SE versus non-SE), passage (A versus B), and native language on the comprehensibility, identification of content location, and task completion of procedure documents for airplane maintenance. Suggests…

Tests the relationship between corporation performance and the readability of annual reports. Shows that annual reports of good performers were easier to read than those of poor performers--good performers used strong writing, unlike poor performers but did not use significantly more jargon or modifiers. (SR)

Discusses the impact of possible sex-based differences in communication styles on the technical writer's job. Argues that technical writers can choose to use both male and female communication styles to acknowledge multiple audiences and to improve the quality of their documents. (KEH)

Reviews James Paradis's analysis of expert knowledge in technical operator's manuals. Demonstrates how professional discourse embodies images of violence and domination. Describes the relationship between ethos and logos in professional discourse. Provides a feminist critique of sex codes in technical communications. (HB)

Argues that an understanding of professional and popular science writers' goals provides a basis for both explaining and evaluating their language use. Suggests that charges normally made against both types of writing deflect attention from the obstacles writers face and the ways in which they use language to overcome these obstacles. (KEH)

Suggests that speech act theory can help researchers and teachers in professional communication to define indirectness more precisely and to determine when it is appropriate and can provide them with a means of analyzing texts and refining rhetorical principles. (ARH)

Focusing on the benefits derived from using plain English in business and technical writing, this document summarizes the presentations at a forum of Better Business Bureau council members. Titles of the articles and their authors are as follows: (1) "English: Number One Language of Business" (W. H. Tankersley); (2) "What Is Plain…