Based on the theme of assessment, this proceedings presents papers and discussions from the annual meeting of the Council for Programs in Technical and Scientific Communication (CPTSC). Three papers in the proceedings discussing curricula are: "Model(s) for Educating Professional Communicators" (Marilyn M. Cooper); "Summary of…

Rules and guidelines are provided for the preparation of abstracts and annotations for documents and journal articles entering the ERIC database. Various types of abstracts are defined, including the Informative, Indicative, and mixed Informative-Indicative. Advice is given on how to select the abstract type appropriate for the particular…

This dictionary attempts to define routinely used specialized language in the various areas of biotechnology, and remain suitable for use by scientists involved in unrelated disciplines. Viewing biotechnology as the practical application of biological systems to the manufacturing and service industries, and to the management of the environment,…

The Penitentiary of New Mexico (PNM) is currently offering the course, Report Writing for Officers, to teach correctional officers how to write better reports. This course focuses primarily on misconduct reports and supporting memos and touches upon the interdependence the course creates between the areas of treatment and security at PNM, helping…

This guide to the development of effective documentation for users of computer software begins by identifying five types of documentation, i.e., training manuals, user guides, tutorials, on-screen help comments, and troubleshooting manuals. Six steps in the development process are then outlined and briefly described: (1) planning and preparation;…

Written to meet the demand for a publication that provides the specifics needed to apply for local, state, or federal funds, this booklet offers assistance in grantsmanship from proposal development through processing. Designed for use as an instructional manual, the booklet is divided into sections, each of which addresses a critical aspect of…

The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) comes under serious criticism for studies prepared by the academy's committees. It is recommended that the academy do less and do it better with emphasis on being more open and on presenting contrary points of view. (Author/EB)

Rules and guidelines are provided for the preparation of abstracts and annotations for documents and journal articles entering the ERIC database. Various types of abstracts are defined, including the Informative, Indicative, and mixed Informative-Indicative. Advice is given on how to select the abstract type appropriate for the particular…

In an effort to identify some factors that interfere with effective writing in adult writers, a three-page questionnaire was administered to 165 adults, most with technical degrees, who worked in the Washington, D. C., area. Respondents were top to middle management personnel who spent a significant portion of their time on the job writing and who…

Technical writers must have a working knowledge of technology in order to rearrange material others provide, but they do not have the expertise needed to originate materials; that is the job of the technical author. Another job function is that of technical editor--a person who can write, can perform the policy making tasks of an editor, and who…

This booklet, written, illustrated, edited, and produced by four interns from the science writing program of the University of California, Santa Cruz, explains seven ocean research projects. The projects are in the fields of: energy, marine education, fishery management, coastal zone management, marine advisory services, aquaculture, and new…

Clinical report writing involves two interlinking processes--creation and communication. There are six stages of clinical inference that find parallels in generative writing stages: possessing a postulate system, constructing the major premise, observing for occurrences, instantiating (classifying) the occurrences, reaching a referential product,…

A study examined the written communication at the technical/professional and managerial levels in a "Fortune 500" corporation to determine whether managers/executives had different communications purposes and, therefore, used different rhetorical strategies and approaches than did professional/technical staff. Rhetorical analysis was conducted of…

As opposed to being a "closed" text (tightly constrained by physical formats, corporate style, and specialized vocabulary), technical writing is actually "open" in the sense that such a text can be interpreted subjectively by an informed audience. Three ethical issues that should be explored in teaching technical writing include personality--the…

This paper is intended to give assistance to a teacher teaching a course in technical writing at a two-year college for the first time. It assumes that the technical writing course is a support or service course rather than a course for technical writing majors and that the English department and the college administration want a technical writing…