Writing has an important role in science education and practice. Emphasizing the interdisciplinary collaboration between English rhetoric studies and biology, seemingly disparate disciplines, we describe a model for a scientific writing and communication course. The goals of the course were to prepare students for science-oriented careers, as well…

University of California's (Berkeley) chemical engineering department developed an in-house course as a prerequisite to senior laboratory (where students must write reports and make oral presentations). The course, which focuses on technical communication skills, is described, with special reference to instructional strategies used and structure…

Describes a communication course in technical writing which is being offered for undergraduate engineering students at Arizona State University. (HM)

Discusses five major challenges to improving technical communication skills of engineering students. A communication course which has been used at McMaster University is also described. (HM)

Describes the activities of the Writing Center Program at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The article also discusses the basic principle behind the tutoring technical writing services offered by the center. (HM)

Cites research showing that many technical writing courses do not give students an accurate conception of the workplace. Notes the importance of communication skills, inadequacies of writers in the workplace, and the need for practice and instruction in collaborative writing. Outlines a one-term course containing a collaborative writing project…

Discusses how technical writing courses have been built on a strong foundation in freshman English at the College of Technology of the University of Houston. (HM)

The General Motors Institute (GMI), a wholly owned subsidiary of the General Motors Corporation, was created to provide leaders for its parent organization. GMI is a fully accredited undergraduate college that offers degrees in industrial, electrical, and mechanical engineering and in industrial administration. Since people in business and…

An English course tailored to the needs of non-English majors has been developed and implemented at West Texas State University. Students from the business world as well as from a wide variety of disciplines participate in the course, which empahsizes the principles of communication. In addition to a text specifically written for the course,…

This paper describes an instructional unit that prepares students as job seekers. The five-session instructional unit employs a team-teaching approach in which a technical writing instructor stresses format, content, and mechanics, and a counselor emphasizes decision making, intrapersonal communications, and interview techniques. The following…

Describes a management communication course that programs class activities but not individual student participation, delegating some routine activities to students and enabling teachers to handle larger classes. Discusses the workbook and assignment structure, evaluation and grading procedures, and positive student evaluations of the course. (RL)

Describes a graduate course that integrates written, oral, and organizational communication and is designed to meet the needs of both masters and doctoral students. (FL)

A course in communications skills for the biomedical sciences is a component unique to the New Mexico State University MARC Honors Undergraduate Program. The program seeks to identify and assist minority students who show evidence of having clear potential to perform at a high level in the biomedical sciences and who show a determination to enter…

This publication contains materials for four courses in Applied Communications in the Applied Academics program at South Seattle Community College. It begins with the article, "Community College Applied Academics: The State of the Art?" George B. Neff), which describes the characteristics, model, courses, and coordination activity that…