Explores various topics and issues concerning trends which are related to electronic learning. They include: improved educational opportunities, role of the National Diffusion Network, school-based demonstration projects, use of technology in science writing classes, importance of basic education, and shifting career patterns. (JN)

Suggests methods which engineering faculty can use to encourage students to write often and well. Directions on how to teach writing in an engineering classroom and an annotated bibliography are given. Students are motivated when they learn that one-third of their working time as engineers will be spent writing. (DH)

Presents a brief history of readability formulas (discussing their capabilities and liabilities) and synthesizes current readability research for teachers who want to use readability principles in their work and who want to teach these principles to their students. Contains a table of the most commonly used formulas that lists their variables,…

In addition to citing bibliographies, books, and reviews on technical writing materials, this bibliography lists materials on the profession; theory and philosophy; courses, programs, and internships; research; teaching; consulting, training, in-house courses; writing professional documents; technical writing and computers; graphics/visual aids;…

Shows traditionally trained English teachers that the insights obtained through advanced literary study are central to the teaching of technical and scientific writing and demonstrates that recent composition scholarship has shown technical writing to be an imaginative, creative, and thus, poetic endeavor. (EL)

Suggests that proposal writing can benefit technical writing students by enhancing skills in using persuasion devices with technology. Presents three rhetorical structural steps (beginning, middle, and end) that reinforce a proposal writing exercise suitable for both university and business applications. (HTH)

Suggests that to learn the effective facets of style in technical writing, students should read Walter Miller's "What Can the Technical Writer of the Past Teach the Technical Writer of Today?" in which the styles of 12 outstanding technical writers are analyzed, and examples of the various stylistic techniques of each writer are cited.…

Explores the current trends in teaching college-level writing, the process versus product controversy, the trends in research direction, and the resulting possible changes in educational programs. (EL)

Relates nine ways in which rejected manuscripts fulfill some positive functions, which include providing material for lower-level publication outlets and acting as a motivating technique and learning experience for the rejected party. (EL)

Shows how the classical enthymeme helps with invention and arrangement in business letter writing. Explains how the results of the enthymemic analysis can be organized according to leads offered by its four steps--clarify the question at issue, answer it, give reasons for the answer, and state the assumption. (EL)

Notes that the success of a writing effort for technical writers sometimes depends on their ability to bring a group of people together, elicit cooperation and involvement, and put thoughts down on paper. Presents three techniques that may be used to deal effectively with group projects: the group calculator, the Japanese Ringi system, and the…

Illustrates using student shared nonacademic experience in preparing group proposals by using an adaptation of the eight-stage process in "The Winning Proposal: How to Write It" by Holtz and Schmidt. (EL)

Compared differences in the report-writing skills of 14 doctoral and 13 nondoctoral school psychologists. The reports were categorized according to the referral problem and rated by a panel of educators. The results indicated no significant differences between the ratings of the doctoral and nondoctoral school psychologists' reports. (JAC)

Discusses the rationale and presentation of an assignment on form design for a business, professional, and technical writing course. (HTH)

Describes the structural and content characteristics of actual employment rejection letters (sent following job screening interviews) and analyzes their impact on applicants' feelings about themselves and about the letters. Concludes that few of the letter characteristics affected applicants' feelings about themselves, but that a number were…