Describes the fundamental concepts and potential of Standard General Markup Language (SGML), a system that allows computer users to exchange, reuse, and reformat information without constraint. Illustrates the concepts of SGML through a simple example. (SR)

Discusses ideas to enhance and enrich writing programs, particularly those designed to familiarize students with the writing requirements of the workplace. (PRA)

Suggests that technical communication teachers view sales proposals as aimed toward the construction and maintenance of long-term relationships. States that hermeneutic theory offers technical communication instructors a valuable perspective from which to teach sales proposal writing because it can help clarify the process by which "ethical…

Suggests that cohesion is best understood as a general perceptual phenomenon rather than a purely semantic one. Discusses three types of structural cohesion based on an analysis of technical texts: cohesion produced through thematic progression, parallelism, and graphic devices. (SR)

Argues the cloze procedure is the appropriate method of assessing the readability of business writing. Uses this procedure to determine the readability of a statement issued by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB). Finds one important GASB statement unreadable by college-level readers. (NH)

Studies the "The Treatise on Fishing with an Angle" from "The Book of Saint Albans" to determine how a 15th-century author approached the problem of writing accurate, technical prose on fishing. Shows how this old text shares many of the rhetorical strategies of modern technical writing. (HB)

Reviews strategies for preparing psychosexual evaluations of sex offenders. Suggests report format and these major sections: identifying information, reason for referral, notification of rights, sources of information, mental status, personal and social history, sexual and sexual offense history, test results, opinions, diagnostic impressions,…

Extends an earlier definition of genre to issues related to power. Suggests exploring genre's relationship to time. Explores theoretical work needed to advance such a claim and then applies this theorizing to the scientific or experimental article to catch a glimpse of the time/space resources of this genre. (RS)

Reviews existing work on establishing value of technical documentation to determine its principles. States that value can be returned by reducing internal investment, increasing sales, and reducing after-sales costs. Argues that further research will improve the understanding of information as the product itself, rather than simply a supporting…

States that technical communicators can learn much from the burgeoning field of technology studies. Argues that technical communication must assume the "burden of comprehension": the responsibility of understanding the ideologies, contexts, values, and histories of those "borrowed" disciplines before using their methods and…

Notes that preparing manuals electronically is a growing requirement for technical writing professionals and that technical writers now often work concurrently with illustrators, designers, and engineers. Discusses how, using a desktop computer and adapting some software solutions, students can produce "professional" engineering diagrams and…

Examines the style of early women technical writers to show that plain English existed before Sir Francis Bacon and received its impetus from the utilitarian attitude that pervaded the 1475-1700 period. Finds that technical communication studied from this historical perspective deepens students' awareness of technical communication's roots in the…

States that more and more technical writers across the discipline are likely to become involved in designing and developing multimedia products in the future. Finds that this will require retooling current skills used in production of text-based information products. Presents an overview of the process of bringing a multimedia product to the point…

Describes technical communicators' abilities to learn about software within organizational constraints and resources. Notes that these writers' tactics for learning software included using it themselves, talking to co-workers, studying program specifications, learning from comments on internal reviews, and studying old manuals. Evaluates each…

Argues that working professionals and academics in technical communication should participate in activities that makes the core expertise of technical communication explicit. Discusses why technical communication needs theory. Outlines core competencies of technical communicators and argues that they have a central role to play in Information…