Research on advance organizers demonstrates the importance of memoran dum subject lines for reader comprehension and, by implication, reinforces the notion that a relationship exists between writer choice and communica tion context. Yet, existing pedagogy presents memorandum subject lines with no regard for context. This article introduces a taxonomy for subject-line com position that takes context into account by classifying memorandum subject lines as either neutral or directed. Analysis of 483 memorandum subject lines led to the development of this taxonomy. Findings from this analysis, as well as findings from several follow-up exercises which tested the usefulness of the taxonomy, indicate that writers compose memorandum subject lines much as pedagogical materials recommend and that these subject lines are usually neutral. However, when given alternatives, writers actually prefer directed sub ject linesforsomesituations. While the study focuses on subject lines in mana gerial memorandums, the proposed taxonomy and findings on writer choice may be more broadly applied and have important implications for pedagogy and research on managerial writing.

The technology of in-house publishing is radically shifting the responsibility for document design from the graphic specialist to the individual writer. To apply the new technology, professional communicators need to understand the principles underpinning typographical design and their origin in the functionalist aesthetics of modernism, particularly as articulated by the Bauhaus. While some of the key concepts of modernism—strict economy, uni versal objectivity, intuitive perception, and the unity ofform and purpose—are well-suited to business and technical documents, these concepts are bound to an historical and intellectual milieu. By understanding the influence ofmod ernism on typographical design, professional communicators equipped with the new technology can adapt design principles to the rhetorical context ofspe cific documents.

While writing teachers view the résumé as a sophisticated rhetorical chal lenge, students tend to see it as a "technical specification"of their employment qualifications. This study investigated the reader's perspective by examining how writing features influence recruiters' assessments of résumés. Eighteen recruiters rated 72 résumés describing fictitious mechanical-engineering stu dents. Four résumé features were systematically varied: relevance of previous work experience, elaboration ofindependent coursework, stylistic quality, and mechanical correctness. The major result suggests that technical work experi ence is important but not sufficient: If the résumés of technically well- qualified applicants contained grammatical errors, recruiters rated these résumés lower than résumés listing less experience but containing more accu rate writing.1

This article discusses the employee newsletter as a medium of managerial communication and details the newsletter's usual contents and functions. The article illustrates how managers can use newsletters to communicate informa tion, as well as to motivate employees and to unify an organization. The arti cle also details an effective role for the newsletter editor.