By teaching about and considering the elements of visual design, communication can be effected and the needs of the reader/user more effectively met. As anecdotal interaction with children indicates, information seems to be communicated more effectively when the rhetor incorporates visual elements. To increase the ability of the reader to…

Scholars, teachers, and practitioners of technical communication are empowered by developments in postmodernism, especially in the face of the historical privileging of the generators of specialized knowledge. Developments in four areas--the rhetoric of science, social constructionism, feminist critiques of science, and ethics--are of a humanistic…

Various genres of writing, such as corporate annual reports, do not evolve fully adapted to the purpose for which they were created. A historical review of use to professionals and students shows that annual reports have gradually developed from modest beginnings to become elaborate, slick, and purposeful documents, bending in time to economic…

This digest presents details of some of the efforts to improve the clarity of written communication in business and the professions. The digest discusses the Plain English movement; writing in professional schools (particularly law and engineering); writing and the medical profesisons; and the public and professional writing. (18 references) (RS)

The guide describes approaches and considerations involved in school psychologists' communication of information in reports. Following an initial tongue in cheek discussion ("On Skinning Cats, Choking Dogs, and Leaving Lovers") of principles of report writing (such as avoiding using the language of logic and not contaminating interpretations with…

Large publication tasks with short flow times require that several editors be assigned to work together as part of a larger publication team that includes management, engineer-writers, publishing logistics personnel, word processor operators, illustrators, and printers. Team-edited publications have special problems, and the technical editing and…

Argues that technical writing instructors should teach sound writing principles while preparing the student to cope realistically with some of the intentionally vague writing of the business-industrial world. (RB)

Discusses the problems of teaching writing to students in the two-year college and suggests several approaches that proved effective. (RB)

Graduate students need to understand the role of technical articles in research and to become familiar with the journal submission process. Although this knowledge is important to their careers, it is rarely included in coursework. To correct this, class discussion on the role of technical articles in research as well as the submission process has…

A study examined the effectiveness of messages to stockholders in the annual reports of four Chief Executive Officers (CEO's) representing corporations that are struggling to recover from financial losses or declining profits. The examination first considered each CEO's syntax and diction, then each CEO's awareness of audience and clarity of…

Updating a 1968 publication, this document presents rules and explanatory comments for use by authors and editors involved in the preparation of a scientific manuscript for professional typesetting prior to publication. It is noted that the guidelines should also be useful for authors producing camera-ready typescript with word processing…

A study examined attitudes toward writing that affect productivity and the extent of their influence. Subjects, 160 engineers practicing in the Chattanooga, Tennessee region, completed a questionnaire concerning writing attitudes, including anxiety and confidence, and levels of productivity. Findings show that confident engineers produce…

Contained in this report is a description of the technical assistance and training phase of the Document Design Project, a program funded by the National Institute of Education and intended to address and correct the readability problems posed by public documents. The first section of the report provides background material on the assistance and…

Intended for newspaper writers and editors, this collection of articles includes the following titles and authors: "VDTs, TV Haven't Shocked Editors" by Jay Rogers; "Opinions Vary on Electronics' Effect" by Bob Nordyke; "A Few Kind Words for the Censors" by Hugh A. Mulligan; "Those Awards Have Their Limitations" by Larry Fortner; "Obituaries Are…

Because the ability to write reports and make oral presentations is crucial to success, the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of California (Berkeley) has set up an in-house, required course that is given every semester to about 60 students. Divided into three sections, one of which is for non-native speakers of English, the…