Understanding the linguistic and rhetorical patterns of an academic discipline strengthens students' abilities to write in professional settings. Data-driven learning and corpus-linguistic methods can increase this understanding and should be considered valuable contributors to any writing curriculum. In this paper, I present a case history on…

Explores the use of Strunk and White's "Elements of Style" as a tool for teaching editing skills to technical writing students. Discusses a procedure for and likely results of using this work in the classroom. (HTH)

Explores the relationship between technical writers and their editors, suggesting ways to defuse defensive attitudes. Recommends providing students opportunities to edit other students' works to learn first hand the sensitivities inherent to the author/editor relationship. (HTH)

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)

Suggests that technical writing students need to be introduced to four important job-oriented concepts: (1) sleuthing (to pinpoint and correct questionable materials); (2) diplomacy (to handle sensitive authors); (3) scheduling (to estimate the time involved to complete a job accurately); and (4) budgeting (to determine job costs). (HTH)

Provides ways to use the standard functions of word processors to help students effectively edit on-screen "soft copy" as well as ways to counter the illusion of perfection caused by drafts printed on high-resolution laser printers with proportional fonts. (RS)

Describes the Service Manual Project developed by the author to teach his Technical Writing II class to interact with professional literature in a more sophisticated and useful manner. Once technical students begin looking at printed matter they work with day in and day out, they begin analyzing it and seeing it in a different light. They realize…

Outlines a three-part diagnostic unit that tells the technical writing teacher what students need to know while showing students what technical writing is. Divides the unit into (1) troubleshooting a poor report, (2) exchanging and comparing revised reports, and (3) followup activities. (RL)

At New Mexico State University, technical communication teachers have developed a course to teach editing processes to graduate students who take the advanced workshop in technical and professional communication. In this seminar group, students work on writing processes; editing processes; written, edited, and tested products; and oral processes…

Describes an editing assignment in which senior engineering students use their knowledge of non-finite clauses (both restrictive and non-restrictive) to achieve concise mature writing. Explains the linguistic background provided to students before the assignment, gives details of the published "answer guide" and the exercise, and…

Presents a process-oriented method for teachers of stylistic editing workshops that allows them to (1) focus on individual students, (2) start with students basic repertory of responses and build from there, (3) work with freely emitted behavior, (4) ensure frequent and brief responses, and (5) achieve desired behavior through sequential steps.…

Advocates emphasizing the reader-writer relationship and the context of editor to facilitate the objectivity and distance technical writing students need to revise effectively. Suggests providing technical writing students with an opportunity to work with others writing in an editorial capacity to help them better understand this relationship.…

The 12 articles in this publication provide indepth treatment of important aspects of in-house training programs for technical writing and editing. The articles deal with the following topics: the value of an in-house writing course, teaching in industry, developing an in-house writing course for engineers and scientists, a new approach to…

Describes the development and use of sentence combining exercises at a midwestern university and presents the results of a test to determine the effects of the exercises on syntactic maturity and mechanics. (HTH)