Discusses the history of business and technical writing based on a survey of over 200 articles and books grouped into 13 categories according to historical period (from ancient times through the twentieth century). Presents suggestions for further research. (NH)

Presents an overview of the shift from handwritten to typewritten to laser-printed text, examining three areas central to this development: the development of visual rhetoric, the rediscovery of aesthetics, and the use of empirical research. (NH)

Discusses ethnographic studies in business and technical writing, noting that ethnography comprises four essential, overlapping contexts: the phenomenal context, the site's cultural context, the research community context, and the researcher's interior context. Claims ethnographic accounts should balance the input of each of these areas rather…

Considers the role of conventions in business writing. Argues that students must be trained to work within specific writing contexts. Moves from a critique of convention to theories of context and intertext. Applies these theories to case studies and analyzes how rhetorical exchanges shape conventions. (HB)

States that many technical writing handbooks advise avoiding passive voice. Identifies functions of passive as well as active voice by determining the frequencies of active and passive verbs in 185 documents written by 28 civilian and military members of the Air Force. Confirms the importance of agency in choice of active or passive; reveals other…

Outlines the history of information visualization, the present state of the art, and the possibilities and challenges that lie ahead. Describes how the articles in this special issue (devoted to visualizing information) help explain the principles and practices of information visualization. Challenges technical communicators to expand their view…

Describes an assignment for a sophomore-level technical-writing course which teaches students to respond to different audiences with different needs by having them analyze and then respond to actual complaint letters (on the same topic but from two very different people). Includes successful and unsuccessful responses generated by the students.…

Describes how the Business Writing Center, within the business school of Emory University, serves remedial and advanced students, provides much-needed assistance for international students, and fosters linkage with liberal arts programs. (SR)

Helps technical communicators explore the potential of virtual-learning environments for their courses and to provide a point of entry into this burgeoning but rather unstructured field of inquiry through a 23-item annotated bibliography of books and journal articles published between 1995 and 1998. Provides a structured overview of approaches to…

Presents a three-year experiment in integrating technical editing students into a multidisciplinary engineering design project that developed several way of helping students apply classroom learning to practical problems. Discusses how engineering students formed Integrated Product Teams and the technical editing students provided editorial…

Suggests that Web pages are no longer simple hand-crafted text objects, but dynamic groupings of text assembled moments before the reader views the page. Suggests that future technical editors require tighter control over information consistency and content to maximize the information content. Addresses pedagogical concerns and suggests possible…

Describes an upper level rhetorical theory course for Scientific and Technical Communication majors (developed and taught by the author) that is grounded in Aristotle's "On Rhetoric" and in his understanding that effective communication is a systematic "tekhne"/art. Describes how the course uses Aristotle's work as a…

Defines two meanings of information design: the overall process of developing a successful document; and the way the information is presented on the screen (layout, typography, color, and so forth). Discusses the future importance of both of these meanings of information design, in terms of design for the web and single-sources (planning…

Describes an undergraduate writing course on communicating public policy. Discusses how academic instruction in professional and technical communication can show students, by simulating practical experience and by developing a discourse analytic perspective, what elected officials, governmental staff, and non-profit non-governmental organizations…

Suggests that technical writing students need to learn to write effectively online because electronic mail is becoming the preferred mode of communicating in industry. Explores how students can be taught to use the network effectively in group and collaborative projects, especially through the writing of critique memos. (RS)