This paper outlines the results of a collaborative effort between members of staff in the Departments of Life Sciences and Language, Linguistics and Philosophy, which involved the implementation of Writing Across the Curriculum strategies in an Ecology course. The lecturer for this course had expressed concerns regarding the poor quality of the…

Plagiarism has become the new piracy. Just as piracy was a few years ago, plagiarism has become the hot, new crime du jour--an act that suggests immorality and often scandal at once. What's more, plagiarism allegations feed into the society's "Candid Camera" mentality--the seemingly insatiable need to uncover wrongdoing. One of the biggest…

Until recently, the notion of a "rhetoric of science" may have sounded oxymoronic. Traditional conceptions of science as the embodiment of disinterested, objective knowledge of nature, coupled with perceptions of rhetoric as empty verbiage, subterfuge, or stylistic embellishment, made science and rhetoric appear quite incompatible. However, recent…

Includes references from the fields of technical and scientific communication on writing instructions published through the end of 1987. Excludes sections from textbooks. Not annotated. (JAD)

Discusses the advantages of using subject experts in a training task force to develop a training program. The advantages include a short time frame, credibility, lack of errors, and staff exposure to top management. (JOW)

Finds that the essays in this special issue define a broad research agenda into the historical, literary, and philosophical foundations of technical writing and communication. States that they conceptualize technical writing broadly and connect language as industrial instrument with its humanistic traditions in political, social, and cultural…

Presents an interview with Jay R. Gould, a pioneer in the field of technical writing and communication. Covers the topics of technical communication education, Gould's publications, and the discipline of technical communication. (MM)

Summarizes the life and work of Jay R. Gould, a pioneer in the field of technical writing and communication. (MM)

Provides references of interest to technical writing teachers and researchers. Includes sections on bibliographies, books, reviews, the profession, theory and philosophy, research, pedagogy, and communication in the profession. (JAD)

Examines the background leading to the development of Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML). Discusses the advantages of SGML and difficulties encountered when first using SGML. (SR)

Claims that teaching ethics is particularly important to technical writing. Outlines a classical, sophistic approach to ethics based on the theories and pedagogies of Protagoras, Gorgias, and Isocrates, which emphasizes the Greek concept of "nomos," internal and external deliberation, and responsible action. Discusses problems and…

Suggests ways for technical communicators to improve their visual skills and visual literacy. (SR)

Finds that detection of flaws in a list provides an opportunity to widen perspective on list content, and further opportunity exists when list headings have two meanings. Argues that the list may be represented better by a two-dimensional array. Considers the term "function" used in a list heading, splitting it into its most common…

The study investigated the importance of two elements in the process of syllabus design (ends / means specifications, program implementation) in the faculty of Islamic and Arabic studies, Nile Valley University, designed in 1995. Results indicate that the ends/means specifications stage is used to present the general aims and the objective of each…