Describes the history of the development of the paper sewing pattern, discusses the role personal communications with consumers played as the genre evolved, and offers observations on the kinds of instruction provided by sewing machine and pattern companies. Concludes that once a genre is sufficiently established to become a standard, industries…

Reports that, since its beginnings in 1973, the Council for Programs in Technical and Scientific Communication (CPTSC) has grown into a 200-member-strong organization with members from schools, corporations, and 3 foreign countries. Recounts the history of the organization and gives its precepts. (PA)

States that engineering students, faculty, and administration agree that writing instruction is important in engineering education. Suggests that, as an alternative to technical writing, if students learn how to approach an issue, form an arguable idea, then logically prove it, this deep level of writing/thinking comprehension can be used to…

Argues that a checklist of what is required can help clarify the demands of writing and turn them into manageable items or practice units. Notes that skills involved in designing and applying checklists resemble those required for dealing with writing tasks on campus and/or at work. Focuses on using checklists to improve report writing. Discusses…

Of 136 graduates who had taken technical writing, over 80% wrote memos and business letters at work, 62% wrote proposals, 57.3% progress reports, and 48.9% procedures manuals. The course was rated useful to employment by 89.4%. Workplace-relevant topics for English courses were identified. (SK)

Tests the relative efficiency and learning effect of text, pictures, and animation in online help systems, designing six versions of a help system for telephones. Presents operational information in text, pictures, or animation, with or without spatial information. Shows that presenting operational information via text was most efficient and that…

Discusses the technical writing profession in the Netherlands. Bases the discussion on two studies--one directed at technical freelancers and another directed at technical writers working within organizations. Gives a profile of technical writers in the Netherlands; an impression of the problems technical writers in organizations deal with;…

Investigates the design history of women's household sewing patterns as that history is recorded in United States Patent Records. Finds that the history of home sewing patterns illustrates a key aspect of usable design: the interrelationship between a device and its documentation and the way changes to both enhance overall product usability. (RS)

Considers acupuncture as an increasingly popular alternative medical therapy, but difficult to describe in technical communication. Notes that traditional Chinese medical explanations of acupuncture are unscientific, and that scientific explanations of acupuncture are inconclusive. Finds that technical communicators must translate acupuncture for…

States that, although policies and procedure documents play an important role in developing and maintaining a consistent quality of interaction in organizations, research literature is weak in this area. Initiates further discussion by defining and describing policy/procedure documents. Identifies a third kind, work instructions. Uses a genre…

Identifies and discusses the effects of single sourcing on the writing process. Provides suggestions for incorporating the teaching of single sourcing into technical communication courses. Concludes that educating students about the process of single sourcing is important if they are to become effective technical communicators in the industry. (SG)

Argues for a more deliberate emphasis on teacher training by reinvigorating "techne" as a concept that is far more than instrumental or prescriptive. Suggests that if teacher educators prepare prospective teachers to master the "techne" of teaching, they encourage them to become user-centered, reflective practitioners who…

Proposes a postmodern reconceptualization of technical communication pedagogy to make student and professional agency a major concern, especially because technical communicators must compete in a global economy that rewards flexibility and penalizes inflexibility. Uses postmodern mapping metaphors and Robert Reich's methodology for training…

Presents a 10-item annotated bibliography of recent reports and conference papers included in the ERIC database concerning the role of collaborative writing in business. (RS)

Research anthropologists are using experimental ethnographic writing to reveal the kinds of hidden agenda that both researchers and informants bring to anthropological field work, questioning what constitutes truth in an ethnographic account. (MSE)