Argues that hedging in scientific research writing cannot be fully understood in isolation from social and institutional contexts and suggests a pragmatic framework which reflects this interpretive environment. Hedging is emphasized as a significant communicative resource for academics that confirms the writer's professional persona and assists in…

Argues for the importance of distinct discourse communities, and the importance of a theory and pedagogy that recognizes common practices, common goals, and common values among discourse communities. Analyzes professional samples of scholarship and sample student papers. Suggests that the transaction between writer and reader lies at the heart of…

Discusses the importance of using good instructional design principles when using new technologies for education. Highlights include identifying instructional objectives; understanding the target audience, and augmenting a presentation with technology instead of letting technology dominate it; organizing the content; and preparing for…

Examines a selection of innovative search tools that attempt to solve specific problems in searching. Topics include search difficulties, including controlled vocabularies and keyword searching; retrieval issues, including relevancy ranking; document discrimination problems; creating search tools for specific audiences; and interface design,…

A three-part training procedure was developed to adapt thinking-aloud writing protocols (TAWPs) for use with children as verbal reports of their audience awareness. Four nine-year olds wrote letters while producing TAWPs. Children know that audience factors affect writers' decisions, but they do not use this awareness when making writing…

Reviews a debate among Roman rhetoricians over declamation, an early case study method. Appraises contemporary concerns about the value of case study as a stimulant to problem-solving skills, its ability to imitate realistic circumstances of business and technical writing, and its emphasis on persona and audience along with its deemphasis of the…

Presents a case study of a conversational storytelling in which a recipient redirects an ongoing storytelling. Finds that storytelling may be a way of accomplishing interpersonal activities, both for teller and recipients, and that the recipient can be an active participant in the storytelling. (MS)

A study classified 61 writing assignments from 10 undergraduate science and technology courses on the basis of audience and task specifications. Most assignments emphasized reporting on specific participatory experiences, and 25 percent of assignments specified an audience other than the course instructor. Pedagogical implications for…

Explores the decision patterns of good and below-average college freshman writers regarding available information on audience and topic. Finds that both groups tended to defer audience considerations until the revision stage. (KEH)

An approach to college faculty development applies fundamental principles of writing to improvement of the writing of college faculty. A series of rules for writing are presented in six categories: motivation; imagination; fluency; control; audience; and resilience. The rules focus more on efficiencies and economies of writing than content or…

An essayist shares ideas on the making of good speeches. Elements recommended include establishing rapport early, structuring the speech well, using language for movement, making the most of the occasion, focusing comments carefully, phrasing well, communicating purpose, having a theme, avoiding problematic vocabulary, and arriving at completion.…

Compares essays by college students from Mali and from the United States, exploring cross-culturally the influence of orality and audience or written discourse. Finds that the "other-directed," group-directed dimension of the Malians' writing contrasts with the overwhelming by self-referential dimension of the U.S. students. (SR)

Jones suggests that Johns' article recommending extensive use of real or authentic audiences in English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) or English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) writing has pushed the value of authenticity too far. Johns' notes basic disagreement about some of the things ESL/EFL teachers can and should do and recommends a collaborative,…

Alumni periodicals can play an important part in a college fund-raising campaign. It captures alumni interest in the institution, provides news about campus events, and can highlight specific campus needs. Such periodicals can cover campaigns in several formats: features, news articles, dedicated section, annual report insert, regular column, or…

Suggests a method for extending feminist critiques of technology to technical communications issues, especially the balancing of gender biases. Provides possibilities for the application of feminist theory to technical communications. (HB)