From a study of the use of undergraduate dissertation writing at four United Kingdom institutions it is determined that this technique is of little value to students and requires administrative control disproportionate to the educational benefits. Issues of curriculum design, teaching styles, and timing of dissertation work are discussed. (MSE)

Recommends student performance be evaluated by professional standards of excellence as preparation for survival at a professional level on the job. Emphasizes that all tasks given to students be as close as possible to those they would be asked to do at work. (EL)

Relies on a study of articles on agronomy and engineering to argue that teachers of technical style need to examine more closely the structures used by technical writers, particularly subordinate clauses that may be a means of distinguishing the "languages" of various technical disciplines. (EL)

Details a corporate advocacy teaching module designed to help business students develop communication skills they can use in the future in defending their corporations when they are attacked in the national media. (FL)

The role of the literature review in a research project is discussed, in the context of classroom research on language teaching. The discussion is intended for teachers undertaking such research with little or no experience, and offers step-by-step guidelines for conducting and using a review of literature in second language learning. First,…

Developed by classroom teachers during the development phase of Minnesota's Graduation Standards, this performance package is made up of locally designed assignments that, taken together, show whether a student has learned and can apply the knowledge and skills related to reading and applying technical information from a variety of English…

Describes a course designed to improve writing ability and ability to use chemical literature, emphasizing course materials, teaching techniques, and effectiveness based on two years of experience. (SK)

Analyzes three concerns to which English teachers must attend during the next decade: writing about technology in simpler, more direct terms; using popular literature as a steppingstone to more meaningful literature; and reintegrating literature and composition study. (JT)

Presents some pointers for designing a course in reading technical or scientific Russian. (AM)

Seven textbooks for teaching Business English are examined with respect to the following criteria, for their suitability in a Business English course: (1) Vocabulary, (2) Structures, (3) Communication situations and practical operations, (4) Taped materials, (5) Variety of text material, and (6) Written production. (Text is in German.) (IFS/WGA)

Describes an exercise for a business writing class which provides teams of students with a simulated encounter involving extended conflict with an adversarial business person, extending over several weeks, and requiring extensive problem solving and a range of business writing. (SR)

Describes a prewriting problem-solving plan intended to help students achieve effective organization and persuasion in writing business documents. Finds that business communication students felt the plan was beneficial, particularly for persuasive messages, individual writing, and small-group writing, and that many felt the plan was worth…

Reports on research describing similarities and differences between expert and novice writing in the problem-solution pattern, a frequent rhetorical pattern of technical academic writing. A corpus of undergraduate student writing and one containing professional writing consisted of 80 and 60 recommendation reports, respectively, with each corpus…

A guide for college faculty who have never written research reports for journal publication outlines the rationale for writing such reports, outlines difficulties in getting published initially, explains factors that may contribute to failure of a research project, and provides specific procedures for producing a publishable paper. Advice…

Describes a laboratory course in developmental psychology as an example of teaching undergraduate students thinking and writing skills. Lists different written and oral communication employed: scientific experimental report writing, sequential and topical protocols of infant behavior, blooper examination responses, and oral presentations.…