The effect of research article length, format, and technical quality upon practicing counselors' receptivity to research material was examined. It was found that none of the predictor variables significantly affected scores of counselor receptivity in any consistent direction or between articles of different content. (Author)

Describes a study whereby audience awareness improved students' ability to write instructions. (HOD)

Introduces business communication instructors to the principles of effectively using color. Discusses general uses of color, color used with text, spot color, color in oral presentations, and color in resumes. (SR)

Presents four articles that provide suggestions for teaching document design: (1) "Teaching the Rhetoric of Document Design" (Michael J. Hassett); (2) "Teaching by Example: Suggestions for Assignment Design" (Marilyn A. Dyrud); (3) "Teaching the Page as a Visual Unit" (Bill Hart-Davidson); and (4) "Designing a…

Presents results of a national study in which members of the Society for Technical Communication rated the relevance of 20 selected English-usage principles that were considered to be of limited importance in a previous study involving textbook editors and communication instructors. Shows that all 20 principles were rated as important to…

Suggests why conceptual design is so often neglected by development teams. Presents a five-step process for developing a sound conceptual model for a software application. Describes how technical communicators can reinforce and support conceptual design in their projects. (SR)

Reprints a corrected version of an article originally published in the volume 43, number 1 issue of this journal. Presents results of a national survey of technical communicators and technical communication teachers assessing the ethics of seven document design cases involving manipulation of typography, illustrations, and photographs. Offers…

Argues that the portfolio deserves at very least a re-evaluation throughout academic (to say nothing of quotidian) life as an indispensable tool of the spirit of pedagogy. Suggests that Portfolio Process as a class or seminar should be integrated into undergraduate curriculum. Notes that the goal of the course is to link technical design education…

Discusses the Gawdy Papers, a mostly unpublished collection of family papers in the British Library consisting of over 5000 documents that cover a large period in the history of modern business writing (1509-c. 1750). Notes that they are extremely helpful in formulating tentative theories about the history of business writing. (SG)

Answers Carl Herndl's call for furthering critical approaches to research in professional communication by forwarding Kenneth Burke's concepts of symbolic action, dramatism, and the pentad. Illustrates, through an analysis of data gathered in a case study of technical writers, how Burke provides educators with tools that can produce more varied…

Offers personal reflections of a professor's long career in technical writing. Looks primarily at technical writing in the university, where most technical writers are now trained and where most theory originates. Recognizes that many improvements in the field have happened because the use of computers makes revision and production of copy easier.…

Distinguishes between technical writing courses for students expecting to be technical communicators and general service courses. Argues that service course teachers can teach credibly without having worked in nonacademic workplaces if they (1) have command of research into nonacademic writing and rhetorical theory; (2) define technical writing…

States that universities and engineering firms do not generally train engineers in business technical writing, although firms benefit from having engineers who can write clear descriptions of their work. Suggests a program to promote writing skills of engineers and engineering students with limited English skills that involves clear, logical lists…

Many students are not able to communicate technical material in writing clearly and effectively. Because writing allows for cognitive activities such as choice and revision, debate and decision making, and examination and evaluation, technology education teachers should support writing across the curriculum. (JOW)

Proposes an approach that emphasizes negative, "what did we do wrong?" questions so that technical communicators can obtain useful feedback on documents. Notes that this approach focuses limited resources on areas that need improvement, rather than areas that already work well and that do not require immediate improvement. (RS)