Analyzes as to style 200 samples of electronic mail memorandums gathered from 4 organizations. Counts systematically textual features such as sentence and paragraph length, grammatical sentence types, sentence openers, and diction to examine patterns of rhetorical choice common to electronic mail. Finds that writers combined elements of…

Scrutinizes the Conference on College Composition and Communication ethics committee's adoption of the rhetoric of ethics to discuss a research situation comparable to one formerly standard in anthropology and psychology, which professional committees in both fields now consider unethical. Suggests that the use of students as the object of…

Presents a case study of several environmental impact statements (EISs) produced by the Bureau of Land Management. Reveals that to determine a document's effectiveness, its social and cultural context must be considered, along with characteristics of the text's organization and style. Recommends a genre theory approach. (MM)

Concurs with Myra Kogen's article ("Journal of Basic Writing," v5 n1) which questioned current applications of cognitive theory to basic writing research. Argues, from the perspective of cognitive psychology, that these applications are undermined by false assumptions and flawed methodology. (MM)

Describes a study of the differences between eight experienced writers who describe themselves as either one- or multi-draft writers. Considers advantages and disadvantages of their differences, including the point at which they begin writing, option-exploring behavior, attitudes toward closure, and writer-based versus reader-based early drafts.…

Finds that the use of writing models influences the content and organization of students' research texts. Shows that seeing a proposition in the models increased the likelihood that students would include it in their texts. Finds no systematic benefits from labeling the models or from providing only good models. (SR)

Suggests that intricate situations occur naturally in the context of work where there is no clearly predetermined division of responsibilities about text production. Observes situations in which a technical writer and a software developer met to clarify specific concepts about the device to be documented, but interesting work in the text actually…

Presents results (in the French language) of a survey regarding French-language professional writing in Canada. Finds that the profile of the professional, the work done, the documentation used, and the requirements for employment varied significantly according to employer and public or private sector. (SR)

Offers a select, 105-item bibliography highlighting research on technical communication published by, for, or about Canadians. Classifies Canadian research by form (books and articles) and by subject (translation studies, technology studies, graphics studies, historical studies, studies of the profession, specialty studies, genre studies, and…

Asserts that qualitative research is undervalued and cites evidence of its value, presents a definition of it, discusses how to evaluate the quality of a study, and suggests when and how qualitative findings can be applied to actual situations. Concludes with examples of two actual qualitative studies and two hypothetical situations where the…

Introduces the process of survey research, focusing specifically on the questionnaire method. Lists and discusses eight essential steps in the process, reviews the relevant literature, and ends with the hope that readers will become better consumers of research and possibly researchers themselves. (SR)

Collects several examples of technical and creative writing to examine whether the differences which have been assumed to exist between the two genres do in fact exist. Finds that their material causes--the tropes and devices of description--are the same and that their differences and similarities are governed by Aristotle's "final cause" (telos).…

Shows how accident reports in a large government agency fail to account for the multidimensional nature of accidents in tightly coupled technologies. Proposes a three-dimensional model of accident analysis to illustrate how underlying models of causality influence the structure of technical reports and the nature of the argument over…

Examines the amount and types of metadiscourse used by novice and expert writers in mechanical engineering design proposals. Finds that the expert took the stance of a member of a community of experts who added credibility by citing other work in his field, whereas students took the stance of agents talking directly to the reader. (SR)

Reviews the research literature to show that academics and practicing editors do not share the same view of the editing process: academics emphasize "intentional diagnoses," and practitioners perform "rule-based" editing. Discusses editing in the workplace, and notes that the editor can be of most service to the writer through involvement in the…