Argues that technical writing instructors teaching audience awareness should introduce students to a variety of pedagogical strategies. Describes four common strategies for teaching audience awareness, ranging from instructions to "consider your audience" to real rhetorical situations. (MM)

Identifies several typical, but not predictable, organizational problems that involve technical communicators. Presents them in a how-to, anecdotal fashion that focuses on actual experience in the workplace. (SR)

Uses qualitative content analysis to discuss current perspectives in technical communication pedagogy. Examines the 1990-94 issues of 5 major scholarly journals--totaling 563 articles--to identify 98 articles mentioning teaching in undergraduate technical communication courses. Classifies the articles into four pedagogical perspectives: (1)…

Defines "hedging" as linguistic strategies that qualify categorical commitment to express possibility rather than certainty. Suggests that hedging is central to effective argument in scientific writing. Identifies the major forms, functions, and distribution of hedges in a corpus of 26 molecular biology research articles and describes…

A genre-based analysis of 20 sociology research articles was used to present a provisional, pedagogically usable description of the communicative categories or "moves" found in the Results sections. The categories (described in terms of function, lexis, and grammatical form) extend and refine previous models and provide evidence of…

Describes German correspondence styles in order to assist American managers. Explains typical conventions of both letter and memo formats, emphasizing the need to appreciate differences between formal and informal modes of communication. (RS)

Discusses narrative-style research writing which uses narrative, storylike framework, and includes elements of both expressive and expository writing. Describes examples and advantages of narrative-style research writing and variations of it. Suggests what teachers must consider before encouraging students to use narrative style for a…

Discusses how to develop a proposal in response to a Request for Proposals (RFP). Provides a list of things needed to write a proposal, a proposal outline, a general proposal checklist, and a proposal writing checklist. (DR)

Presents a brief summary of the findings of a study. Describes three simple procedures to improve the accessibility and readability of journal abstracts: (1) enlarge type size to match that of the text; (2) use paragraph indentation to denote structure; and (3) rewrite abstracts in plainer English. (SR)

A training approach developed by Management Technology Strategies makes blue-collar employees responsible for their own learning. The adaptable system follows three phases: (1) data and design; (2) documentation; and (3) training. The organization provides trainers, tools, and resources, but employees must be proactively involved in using them.…

Responds to a 1993 article in this journal. Places that article's general conclusion (that profitable corporations have more readable narrative texts than unprofitable ones) within the broader context of the readability research and corporate reporting literature. (SR)

Investigates the extent to which draft reviews improved the technical accuracy of two computer documents. Finds that draft reviews encouraged reviewers to make suggestions about all aspects of a document, not only technical accuracy. Recommends that draft reviews be supplemented by numerous other quality control techniques such as user reviews and…

Describes how, by adapting software inspections to assess documentation and code, technical writers can collaborate with development personnel, editors, and customers to dramatically improve both the quality of documentation and the very process of inspecting that documentation. Notes that the five steps involved in the inspection process are:…

Argues that today's corporation must keep informed a wide range of individuals who have a stake in environment, health, and safety issues. Describes four elements of an effective communications program for doing so: electronic media to communicate technical information, environmental and safety audits, public communications with company…

Argues that technical communicators must be prepared to communicate via multiple media, including video. Describes a technical scriptwriting course that develops skills useful in several media. Discusses pedagogical strategies, three major assignments, reading assignments, client assignments, production diary assignment, and new technology. (SR)