English 3820: Scientific Writing, a writing-intensive (WI) course offered by the Department of English at East Carolina University (ECU), serves primarily science majors. According to the course catalog, it provides students with "practice in assimilation and written presentation of scientific information." The course asks students to…

This paper details an assignment sequence that requires graduate students in an applied communication program to identify problems that clients may not be aware of. Good writing and good problem-solving are "inextricably linked to [a student's] ability to frame an issue, gather, and analyze information, and to structure a helpful response" (Musso,…

Outlines a basic writing skills course and provides statistics drawn from an existing course at San Diego State University concerning students' performance in the areas of grammar, spelling, and punctuation. (FL)

Describes an experimental course in content area writing in engineering taught at Triton College (Illinois). (HTH)

Presents outlines and objectives of two inservice, eight-week seminars on effective writing and oral presentation designed for an engineering firm. (AEA)

A distinction is made between legal research instruction and instruction in the art of drafting legal papers. The need for the latter is outlined, and efforts to implement such a course at the Indiana University School of Law are described. Available from University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83843. (MSE)

Describes a course in which students learn to write rich, accurate, precise, objective description, develop a sensitivity to honest, uninflated language, and demonstrate these skills by producing an action proposal. Describes the three sections of the course: objective description, lessons in language, and grand proposals. (PRA)

Reports the results of a series of long-range studies that demonstrate that participants in short courses improve their communication skills as much as students enrolled in semester-long college classes. (AEA)

Describes the design and implementation of a successful interdisciplinary course in technical writing developed for dental hygiene students at a community college. Offers background information about the college and the students' communication needs, the rationale for implementing an interdisciplinary approach, and a model adaptable for technical…

Discusses providing specialized technical writing courses for employees of government institutions and corporations. Includes suggestions for making contacts, developing and gathering materials, course plans and content, and presentation style. (HTH)

A collaborative project in a college freshman technical writing class produced multiple benefits to those involved. The project, designed to be an experiential and investigatory writing assignment rather than a perfunctory one, challenged students to identify a campus problem regarding enrollment procedures and to work through the problem-solving…

This paper focuses first on the educator, Ralph W. Tyler, who serves as a model and ideal for curriculum development and implementation. The paper states that in 1949, Tyler, in creating a syllabus, created a small book of 128 pages, and in so doing, he set a benchmark in the field of education. The paper then provides an extended syllabus for a…

Designed chiefly for the growing number of technical and business writing teachers in two year colleges, this collection of articles helps teachers understand technology and business students so that they can teach courses that satisfy the writing needs of those students. Written by practicing teachers or writers, the articles offer viewpoints on…

Draft specifications for an undergraduate course in professional writing, designed to teach practical writing skills, are presented in this paper. The paper notes the need for such a course to prepare professional personnel for the writing they do in their jobs, and it suggests that the course be aimed at juniors and seniors in liberal arts,…

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)