Cites reasons why resume writing is a legitimate subject in a business or technical writing course. Discusses advantages and components of the functional resume, the skills identification workshop, and last minute tips for writing effective resumes. (EL)

Describes a technical writing exercise used in the writing assistance program of a school of engineering. The exercise involves comparison of an original and rewritten memo to illustrate poor technical writing and how it differs from its better-organized and better-developed counterpart. (HTH)

Provides evidence of the devaluation of visuals in technical communication courses and also that pedagogical materials on visuals are at odds with current rhetorical theory and are increasingly anachronistic in the computer era. Discusses implications of the computers' impact for visual instruction and presents suggestions for future directions in…

Discusses the pedagogical concern of teaching students of English for special purposes (ESP) to interpret scientific and technological texts. Discovering the intentions of the author is not in accord with the actual practice of grammatical-rhetorical analysis. Rather the focus is on the message of the text itself. (SED)

The investigation and use of machine translation as an adjunct to human translation at the Soviet Union's All-Union Translation Center, a centralized scientific and technical translation facility, is examined. The issues of error correction, the variety of translation types needed, and special lexical considerations are discussed. (MSE)

Argues that, to succeed in the workplace, technical writers must supplement their knowledge of writing and rhetoric with an appreciation of "organizational culture." Explains how to do this and shows how technical writing classes can prepare students for this adjustment to the corporate environment. (FL)

To determine effect upon comprehension of technical information of text presentation, visual presentation, and execution of an activity, 140 junior high students were tested for comprehension of a passage on slip casting. Data from 14 experimental groups were analyzed by Verbatim Cloze, Idea Cloze, and Recall. Independent application of…

Emphasizes the need for "pointing" or structuring the body of the report so that the "recommendations" or "conclusions" logically follow. (EL)

Focuses on the persona or ethos of the writer. Demonstrates that ethos can be an effective form of appeal in technical discourse, particularly in commanding the attention of the audience to instruction. Suggests specific directions for future research on specific ways to communicate a strong ethos in technical texts. (EL)

Presents a career planning questionnaire for use in business writing classes to help students understand job search strategies. (FL)

Offers a technique designed to help business communication students write sales letters and letters of application. (FL)

Suggests duplicating the depth and texture of real-life writing in the classroom by using the college organization and its functions to create more accurate writing assignments. (CRH)

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 a seminar designed to prepare graduate students to teach technical writing. Covers the seminars content, philosophy, and goals. (FL)

Deals with the split in English departments between perpetuating humanistic study and teaching technical communication skills, and offers suggestions to promote appreciation of good literature as well as effective writing and the relation between the two. (CRH)