Reports on a study in which college students wrote compositions that elicited their technical knowledge of three topics, then completed a questionnaire that assessed which of four information sources had contributed to their knowledge of the topics--formal education, mass media, social interaction, and direct experience. (FL)

Points out how the work of Robert Zoellner helps students to achieve professional competence as speakers and writers. Discusses the "talk-write" model, which focuses on speaking and writing as behaviors and uses reinforcement to shape effective writing. (EL)

Shares on-the-job impressions of technical writing with the intention of providing information about the technical writer's roles in business communication. (EL)

Suggests linking technical writing assignments to library research in students' fields to build on students' immediate concerns and to reinforce the practical nature of technical writing. Includes two such assignments: the comparative analysis and the user's guide for a specific reference work. (HTH)

Presents a study that assesses the impact of business and technical writing courses on English departments and their faculty. Concludes that because of increasing enrollments in business and technical writing classes, a need for people with expertise in composition and literature and for P.H.D. graduates with training in business and technical…

Demonstrates that basic algebraic symbols can be used to illustrate fundamental concepts in technical writing, such as hierarchical organization, sentence structure, modification, and punctuation. Suggests that students in calculus, chemistry, and physics may benefit from this application of familiar concepts to those of technical writing. (HTH)

Presents sequential assignments that require group cooperation and allow technical communication students to perceive the connection between self and subject as they become involved in various discourse communities rather than acting out simulated case studies. (HTH)

A writing assistance program at North Carolina State University is designed to help students gain the communication skills they need as professional engineers. The program involves teaching, tutoring, advisory services, and workshops on special topics of wide interest. Each of these program areas is discussed. (JN)

Discusses sentence diagramming as a foreign language teaching technique to graphically illustrate the interrelationship between clauses and phrases in particularly complicated scientific and technical sentences in German. The purpose of the method is to illustrate the overall structure of the sentences rather than the relationships between…

Describes one university's program of recruiting of professional writers from a variety of jobs to serve as part-time instructors of composition. Reviews the characteristics looked for in such staff, explains how they are recruited and trained, and details the advantages they bring to the writing program.(FL)

Describes a busy executive's writing process when writing a report for a board and points out its similarities to writing demanded of students. (EL)

Describes a four-week business communication course in which students visited companies. They prepared a formal report describing the companies in general terms, the activities they engaged in on the visit, and the presentations they made at each of the companies. (EL)

Describes the development and operation of the MIT Technical Writing Cooperative, a means of writing across the curriculum that has been used for more than 25 years. (FL)

Discusses ideas raised in previous articles by Haselkorn dealing with pragmatics and writing theory. (FL)

Describes a study of the ability of English as a second language students to read technical instructions. The students were asked to set a digital alarm clock using the manufacturer's instructions. The results indicate that a science background is a greater facilitator of efficient completion than very good knowledge of English. (SED)