This document provides recommendations for request for proposal (RFP) and contract language that state education agencies can use to specify their requirements for access to test item banks. An item bank is a repository for test items and data about those items. Item banks are used by state agency staff to view items and associated data; to…

Every article sent by an author to a reputed scientific journal undergoes a rigorous editorial evaluation. The editor has the final responsibility of accepting or rejecting manuscripts and thus can confer authority and validity on the author's research and help to disseminate new knowledge. In this task, editors make use of a panel of expert peer…

The scientific community has traditionally considered technical English as neutral and objective, able to transmit ideas and research in simple sentences and specialized vocabulary. Nevertheless, global communication and intense information delivery have produced a range of different ways of knowledge transmission. Although technical English is…

The major purpose of this case article is to propose a methodology for reporting the work of teachers who develop ICT-facilitated learning, so that it is publishable in refereed journals. This experience of professional practice typically fails to meet the criteria of academic research, yet academics are experienced investigators and are skilled…

School districts across the nation have pursued writing across the curriculum since the early 1980s. But writing is something that many technology educators are just starting to implement in their classes. Some instructors have shown a lot of apprehension about including writing in their curriculum and daily assignments. After taking a writing…

A primary goal of most introductory business and technical communication courses is to introduce students to the idea that the professional communication most of them will engage in is different from the writing they do for academic purposes. This overall idea covers several principles concerning professional writing. However, implementing active…

2008 marked the 10-year Anniversary of the Open Source movement, which has had a substantial impact on not only software production and adoption, but also on the sharing and distribution of information. Technical communication as a discipline has taken some advantage of the movement or its derivative software, but this article argues not as much…

This article discusses the issues of teaching ESP to Ukrainian tertiary students majoring in psychology. The suggested approach is based on teaching English through the content matter of special subjects included in the program of training practical psychologists. The example of an ESP textbook for psychologists is used for demonstrating the…

Those who submit manuscripts to academic journals may benefit from a better understanding of how editors weigh ethics in their interactions with authors. In an attempt to ascertain and to understand editors' ethics, we interviewed 3 current academic journal editors of technical and/or business communication journals. We asked them about the…

This article presents a conceptual framework for the writing process to facilitate motivation, learning, retention, and knowledge transfer in readers of expository material. Drawing from four well-developed bodies of knowledge--cognitive science, learning theory, technical communication, and creative writing--the author creates a model that allows…

In working with business executives, engineers, and government officials to improve their writing, the author learned that it is much easier to teach clarity than tone. To achieve clarity, writers can follow concrete action steps: (1) organize the ideas; (2) write previews and summaries; (3) insert substantive headings; (4) use active verbs; and…

The ability to use literature effectively is essential to provide context and interpret results for any research project. Undergraduate students in geographical disciplines are regularly required to produce research reports, yet formal training in effective literature use is minimal. In this study students were taught effective literature use…

The principal's desk is a crowded place at the end of the year. Memos from the superintendent, school board meeting minutes, parent messages, and reports on many aspects of the school and its functions make the desk appear to be the school's dumping ground. Among these reports is the librarian's annual report--a summation of the year's goals,…

Many undergraduate chemistry curricula are devoting increasing amounts of time to teaching technical writing skills. Significantly less attention, however, is given toward training students in nontechnical writing strategies. The ability of chemistry students to communicate effectively in writing to a wide variety of audiences is an essential (and…

States that rhetorician Longinus advises writers to "transport" their readers by aligning readers' perspective with the writer's--methods for transport are five "fountains": high thought, emotional appeals, figures of speech, notable language, and arrangement. Develops a Longinian concept and methodology for technical…