Examines production processes of five publication houses to determine how or if requirements for expertise in the subject area, writing, and design skills are being met. Interprets the production process for technical manuals in terms of a process model of writing and strategies for improving the quality of documentation. (SKC)

Describes the writing problems of "real world" professional users of word processing, which include editing instead of revising and rethinking, a reluctance to rewrite, and word-inflation. Suggests strategies for working with students to avoid these problems, focusing on functional writing used by professionals in various fields. (MM)

Summarizes results of research addressing preparation, experience, and professional activities of technical communication teachers in two-year colleges. Concludes such teachers are established, continuing professionals, and hard-working, dedicated persons. (SD)

Examines the effects of using word processors and other writing tools on college students' writing. Finds no significant difference between the writing achievement of experimental groups (who used writing tools) and control groups (who did not). Suggests the widespread use of computers calls into question the results of such experiments. (ARH)

Constructs frameworks for understanding how organizations may function as rhetorical contexts. Compares traditional and modern approaches to rhetorical context and discusses where organizations, as a form of context, may fit within each approach. Describes two approaches to organizational theory that have implications for the study and practice of…

Reports preliminary findings of a study of coauthorship and group authorship in six major professional organizations. (FL)

Describes different types of financial reports needed in libraries as the bases for accountability, evaluation, and decision making. The appropriate form and content of reports are identified in terms of the audience and the use of the report. (CLB)

Argues that business writing is not compatible with currently fashionable process approaches that are adapted to personal, expressive writing. Claims that good business writing is transactional and requires a formulation that cannot be reconciled with the pedagogical theories, assumptions, and techniques of current process writing. (JD)

Suggests using abstract writing to introduce students to various elements of technical writing such as organization, stylistic choice, and revision. Provides examples of students' condensations and summarizes the benefits of teaching abstract writing. (SRT)

Describes a technical proposal writing assignment modeled after the conditions in industry. Provides a paradigm of government project proposals and then outlines the stages of the assignment that allow student to rework and revise, thereby discouraging students from writing formulaic and superficial proposals. (SRT)

Outlines two hypotheses about the reasons for obscurity in expository writing and notes that neither accounts for the general results of an exploratory study of the writing of postgraduates nor for the individual cases presented. Argues that a crucial factor is a person's implicit model of expository writing. (FL)

Outlines a method for compiling information from secondary sources without assigning lengthy research papers in both business communications and principles of marketing classes. (SRT)

Describes a strategy in which students complete 12 types of reports during a chemistry course. The goal is to improve their ability to communicate effectively in a variety of styles without sacrificing the traditional goals of imparting an understanding of experimental chemistry and an ability to critically analyze experiments/results. (JN)

Presents a sequence of assignments that provides an inductive method for preparing students to write a formal proposal by imitating the grant review and proposal process. Describes the process and results of peer review of the resulting proposals.(HTH)

Points out that readability indexes can serve a useful role in the teaching of writing when used as they were intended to be used. Focuses on Gunning's Fog Index. (EL)