Writing in the first person is not usually tolerated in academic writing under the illusion that the third person insures some kind of objectivity. But writing in the first person is honest, permitting the reader to know that what is being said is a matter of opinion. It is a direct way of speaking about what a writer sees or feels or thinks, and…

A previous report defined a series of 14 novel measures for determining the comprehensibility of English text on the basis of current psycholinguistic and Structure-of-Intellect concepts. That report not only suggested the potential usefulness of the measures but also conjectured about the feasibility of automating the calculation of these…

The functional writing model is a method by which students learn to devise and organize a written argument. Salient features of functional writing include the organizing idea (a component that logically unifies a paragraph or sequence of paragraphs), the reader's frame of reference, forecasting (prediction of the sequence by which the organizing…

This paper advises teachers of technical writing to "practice what they preach" by occasionally doing field work in technical communication. The possibilities for off-campus work include consultation, perhaps for an in-house manual of technical writing procedures and skills, editing assignments for businesses and public agencies, and freelance…

Learning to read foreign technical texts requires (a) a minimum vocabulary and (b) effective drill. The following are suggested: translation, question-answer method, definition exercises, exercises to develop skill in the use of reference works, schematic presentations and tables, annotating and making reports and summaries. (Text is in German.)…

This discussion of the computing network and word processing facilities available to professionals on the Indiana University campuses identifies the word and text processing needs of technical writers and faculty, describes the current computing network, and outlines both long- and short-range objectives, policies, and plans for meeting these…

The need for effective communication is reflected in the increased number of privately sponsored technical writing workshops and in the increased demand for business and technical communication courses on campuses. In these learning situations the traditional methods that have been used to teach adolescents how to write become inappropriate.…

Perhaps because the United States is undergoing a video revolution, perhaps because of its increasing sales of goods to non-English speaking markets where graphics can help explain the products, perhaps because of the decreasing communication skills of the work force, graphic aids are becoming more and more widely used and more and more important.…

Arranged in chronological order, this collection of papers explores the process involved in teaching expository writing in order to stimulate discussion, provoke comment and criticism, and provide the insights and information needed to develop a writing skills program. Much of the collection was written by persons with no direct experience in…

The four-section manual provides resource materials for writing individualized assessment reports in the field of special education. The first section discusses the purpose and outcomes of the assessment process. In section two the functions of assessment are explored including a statement of the need for a clear, concise assessment reporting; and…

The number of college students in technical writing classes has grown at least tenfold since 1969. This dramatic increase has occurred partly because of the practicality and power inherent in technical writing and partly because of the increased need for technical writing skills by people in today's change workforce. As developed countries shift…

The need to introduce nonsexist language into scientific and technical writing is addressed. By taking advantage of the versatility of the English language, it can easily and clearly be indicated that either one or both of the sexes is being discussed, without resorting to biased, euphemistic, or newly-invented wording. There are two conceptually…

An examination of the written products and writing situations of a university reveals that virtually all of these writing tasks call for exposition, which further breaks down into the five components of seriation, classification, synthesis, compare/contrast, and analysis. These five components of expositional discourse form a set of…

Scientists and science writers are often thought to be at odds about the goals and strategies of communicating scientific information to the public. However, a value judgment underlies the "raison d' etre" for scientific communications and links the diffusion of information about science with an ensuing public trust for science. Scientists and…