It has been shown that the language of some scientific disciplines is highly metaphorical, but there is probably no field that uses metaphor quite as pervasively and idiosyncratically as does computer science. One senses that this phenomenon results from a need to compensate for the exceedingly abstract nature of the discipline. The central metaphors do not exist singly. They exist in groups or families, suggesting a deep influence on the way people in computer science write and talk. Such a cluster of deep metaphors can be thought of as a paradigm of the discipline, a set of eyeglasses through which we see our world. This article examines some essential paradigms of computer science. These paradigms are so much a part of the way we think about and talk about computers that it is difficult to imagine computer discourse without them.

This article surveys and critiques the literature on using style checkers and the text-editing capabilities of the computer to assist in revising technical writing. The literature on text-editing capabilities is inconclusive because it is largely anecdotal and methodologically flawed. The literature on style checkers is similarly inconclusive. To better assess the value of the computer, we need to examine the basic premise of the research on revising and word processing: that more revising leads to higher-quality writing. We need to be sure that our evaluative techniques for measuring writing improvement are valid; to focus our attention not only on computer novices but also on computer-experienced writers; to examine other factors that affect how writers use word processing and that in turn might affect writing quality; and to examine more carefully the differences among word processors and among the different style checkers to determine their effects on writing behavior and writing quality.

Nassi-Schneiderman (NS) Charts are a form of flowcharting invented in the early 1970s to ensure that emerging computer programs would be structured, that is, organized into strings and nests of allowable programming constructs. These same constructs, however, are inherent in manual procedures as well. Using NS Charts to diagram human procedures eliminates prose ambiguities and provides most of the advantages of decision tables and trees. At the least, NS Charts can be used to test the logic and completeness of traditional procedures. At the most, they can replace many of the traditional publications.

As user advocate, usability tester, screen designer, and online documentation specialist, the technical communicator is now playing a role in all phases of product development, from initial design to final support. How has this expanded role come about? What kinds of decisions is the technical communicator responsible for? How must the technical communicator interact with other team members, especially in the exciting, interdisciplinary area of “external design”? This article examines the rapidly growing role for technical communicators in the computer industry as members of the external design team.

Computer programs for analyzing writing style have grown in number and sophistication over the past decade, and the coming decade will see more and more of them. In order to know the capabilities and limitations of such programs and to decide if any of them are right for you, it is important to understand how they work. In this article, the author draws on his background in computational linguistics to explain how computerized style analyzers accomplish the things that they do.

Most research on writing has focussed on the work of single authors working by hand on prose texts. However, much professional work is collaborative, computer-based, not exclusively prose, and not well studied. Some preliminary research suggests that the use of computers will affect the cognitive activities of individual authors in several domains of immediate relevance to composition and technical communication practitioners: planning activities, editing activities, the writing of novice computer users or poor typists, and writing for electronic mail and other electronic communication. Research reported here suggests that the rapidly increasing capability of computer-based writing systems will force communication researchers to 1) broaden their basic conception of and methods of studying “author” to include authoring teams, 2) broaden the type of material studied from that which is purely or largely textual to that which much more frequently includes other types of information, and 3) track changes in “genre conventions” resulting from the increased capabilities of computer-based systems—in short, to assess the impacts of the medium on the message.

Computers in technical writing classes are growing in popularity because professionals increasingly use computers for writing reports and because the computer can aid in producing more visually sophisticated documents. Yet, we do not know what computer experience students bring with them to the computer classroom, a lack of knowledge that makes the task of integrating the computers into the classroom more cumbersome. This article presents the results of a survey of Purdue University students' knowledge of, use of, and attitudes toward computers as they enter the technical writing class. It contrasts the technical students with upper division humanities students and draws conclusions about the documentation requirements and the appropriate computer use goals for the Purdue students surveyed. Finally, suggestions are made about how to use a survey of this type.

The history of Technical Writing closely parallels trends in the discipline of Computer Science. The early technical writers in the computer software industry were its own technicians (programmers and analysts), who used a variety of diagramming techniques to document computer systems. As a result of the widespread availability of computers and software which began in the 1970s, professional communicators joined the software industry and reinterpreted these diagramming techniques from technical source documents into user documentation. The impact of this assimilation process has influenced graphic representations in Technical Writing, as well as created the conceptual metaphors of the “user” and the “module” (which are emerging archetypes). In the past, Technical Writing's historical roots have been the result of reactions to Computer Science. However, the increasing presence of online documentation is now creating opportunities for technical writers to shape their own future by joining with computer scientists as influential equals.

A review of the current literature suggests that the concept of purpose has not received sufficient theoretical or pedagogical attention. In this article, theoretical depth is provided by a discussion of four components of purpose: purpose as associated with discourse types, purpose from the writer's viewpoint, purpose as it relates to situation, and purpose from the reader's viewpoint. Research is cited, and examples from computer documentation are used to illustrate each component. Cooperation and conflict among components are examined in a sample document, and classroom applications are discussed.

This article is concerned with reviews, surveys, tests, and other formal procedures used in writing for the computer industry that are designed to provide authors and publications managers with information about the quality and nature of documentation. The literature in this area reveals a number of problems with feedback in hightech writing, including the lack of a consistent definition of feedback processes. The article investigates various types of reviews, theoretical aspects of feedback, and elements of feedback specific to hightech writing. This investigation yields three consistent perspectives on feedback: management, style and rhetoric, and research.

The writing of computer training materials for both home and business markets is a vast and growing industry. Because these new users are making more stringent demands on the kinds of training materials that they receive, technical writers no longer have the luxury of writing only for the system programmer and dealing only with the printed page. The growing need for quality training on computers is offering technical writers in the computer industry the chance to expand their fields of expertise. Three training media are compared—books, online tutorials, and videotape—along these criteria: basic organization, interaction patterns, tools, special development needs, special environmental needs, goals, type of information taught, and suitability as a training medium. Finally suggestions are made about how practicing technical writers can learn about these new media.

The technological marvel of word processing should greatly improve teaching effectiveness in the writing class, but this beneficial technology also brings its potential dark side: unethical activity, from plagiarism to the manipulation of a writer's words and, potentially, thoughts. Naive computer users may view the machine as a passive provider of electronic games, not realizing its potential for questionable activities. Teachers and business professionals must become aware of how this technological marvel could be misused.

This article describes a computer-based writing assistant called REVISE, which implements some “Plain English” guidelines in an easy-to-use, efficient computerized tool. Some existing computer-based writing systems are reviewed and some problems with these systems are discussed, particularly in the area of the human-computer interface. The article describes the design principles that formed the basis of REVISE and how REVISE improves upon some of the difficulties noted in the existing systems. A preliminary evaluation of the effectiveness of REVISE is described. Some limitations of REVISE are discussed as are directions for future research and development on computer-based writing aids.

American business is now responsible for training an entire generation of poorly skilled writers. While brief writing seminars may help, the real cure begins with training managers on how to manage the writing process. They need to see the link between good writing and good leadership. Simply sending reports back to employees with a sarcastic note to “get it right” does little to build writing skill and confidence. Managers also need strategies for working with employees. These strategies extend from simple revising techniques to the use of sophisticated computer programs.

The current job market favors young technical writers who are skilled in the way of the computer both as a subject of writing and as a production tool. In the technical writing classroom students can be exposed to this important technology through assignments that include computerized instruction, word processing, text analysis, artificial intelligence, and communications.

Complicated documents often affect readers the way computer programs affect computers; technical writers are prone to many of the same serious errors that plague programmers. Among the many principles that writers can learn from programming are: 1) Models save money: it is far more economical to develop detailed outlines and mockups than to improvise from a vague outline. 2) Quality demands maintainability: every complicated document will need frequent revision, and only documents designed for ease of change will be kept current. 3) The trouble is in the interfaces: the procedures and tasks in a manual are not as error-prone as the rules for moving from part to part of the book itself. 4) Readers are subject to the laws of physics: many publication economies produce documents that defy the physical powers of the reader. 5) Communication is control: readers must be prevented from getting lost.

The computer's ability to store and process large volumes of material can be very helpful in writing criticism and evaluation. By using this technological capability, evaluative decisions made by an instructor can be processed quickly and transformed into typewritten commentary. This article describes a method for storing anticipated instructional comments in computer memory and retrieving those comments for the purpose of providing both evaluative and reinforcing feedback to students. In this manner, the computer aids the instructor by improving the speed of encoding those comments into written form.

The author draws upon experience in software publishing and in the composition classroom to indicate what challenges confront new technical writers in software writing positions. The paper covers four topics: 1) Descriptions of software writing projects which indicate that writers must know how to use options such as motion, color, reader interaction, and individualization; 2) Writing challenges facing students—orienting readers, interaction technique, succinctness, and pace; 3) Print/software publishing differences which include: the need for programming or authoring systems, the planning and implementation of computer options and mechanical detail, the influence of graphics on the writing, the use of a top/down approach, the use of necessary field tests, and the early involvement of publishers; and 4) A software writing exercise requiring students to use the top/down approach and to write text to accompany the graphics.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship of student attitude using graphic enhanced versus nongraphic enhanced computer-based instruction. Four intact groups were randomly assigned treatment. Two groups received graphic instruction and two groups received nongraphic computer-based instruction. An attitude questionnaire was administered to evaluate student attitude toward the graphic and nongraphic computer-based instruction. Results of t-tests indicated there was no significant difference in attitude scores between graphic and nongraphic treatment groups at the .05 level.

Well-selected metaphoric terminology can reduce the fear and ignorance that often dishearten first-time computer users and can help them grasp new concepts and procedures. Many people are amused by terms such as bit, byte, and mouse and are enlightened by terms such as menu and wild card. Some users of computers, however, are offended by the metaphoric terminology that is commonly used in writing about computers and computing. They bridle at words like memory and intelligence applied to computing machinery. They are annoyed by casual uses of interface and parameter or puzzled by words like spool, boot, and argument. With the concept of usability as their guiding principle, writers in the computer industry can assess the appropriateness of metaphoric terminology by applying seven criteria: 1) Is a metaphoric term needed? 2) Is the old word familiar? 3) Is the metaphoric relation close? 4) Is the usage of the word consistent? 5) Is the metaphoric word brief? 6) Is the metaphoric usage acceptable? 7) Is the metaphoric word memorable?

This article suggests that computerized word processing provides a closer analogue to the mental processes involved in prose writing than use of a pen or pencil or a typewriter. This statement may appear paradoxical because word processing depends upon a complex technology that for some observers may appear to be “unnatural.” However, the flexibility provided by this technology, especially the infinite opportunities to alter an impermanent set of notations, accommodates the multiple and overlapping cognitive activities essential to writing. This thesis is supported by the various interdisciplinary studies contained in Cognitive Processes in Writing.

Writing good computer manuals for beginners is a demanding job. Recently, rhetoricians have advised manual writers who want to write better manuals to consider the audience (computer users) carefully. However, my rhetorical analysis of several computer manuals shows that writers should also consider genre, subject, and writer's purpose. I also found that, while some writers accommodate their rhetorical situation, they may do it unconsciously, given the inconsistency of their rhetorical choices. In conclusion, by paying attention to the overall rhetorical situation, manual writers will surely produce better manuals.

The concept of shape is commonly conveyed in scientific and technical fields by reference to pre-existing images presumably familiar to both writer and reader. Such images are drawn from a wide variety of sources which include geometrical images, shape images from nature and simple technology, and from familiar arbitrary forms such as the alphabet. Shape images in language continue to be invented, and provide both analogs for expression and analogs for thought. Once a term is established, it ceases to function as an analog. Examination of shape analogs serves as a useful microcosm of language development. Shape imagery is a facet of language that remains quite impervious to computer analysis and translation.

Writing in the computer industry most likely provides the greatest challenges for technical communicators. The technology changes rapidly, and there are few established models of how communication products should be written. There are even fewer established models of how communication departments should be run. This article looks at the frustrations, challenges, and rewards of writing in such an environment.

Proponents of computerized text-analysis (CTA) systems like Bell Laboratories' Writer's Workbench contend that the computer's analysis of a text's surface features can help students become better writers and editors. Several colleges and universities have already integrated the new technology into their writing programs, and others will consider doing so in the future. Teachers of technical writing, however, ought to investigate carefully the capabilities and limitations of CTA before applying it to the technical writing classroom. Not even the most sophisticated of today's computers can detect the basic grammar and punctuation errors that bedevil student writers. Moreover, the computer's evaluation of a text's readability and style is untrustworthy and lacks a sound theoretical and pedagogical foundation; indeed, the machine's quantitative-based analysis of writing style might do some students more harm than good. Finally, there is no empirical evidence that CTA helps students become better writers.

In a technical editing class, assignments based on the word processor teach editing skills, generate materials for editing, increase the students' awareness of the text as visual, give them experience with editing computer documentation, introduce them to readability programs and their use for the editor, and familiarize them with the electronic flow of text from author's draft to printed page. The word processor is thus integral in achieving the broad educational objectives of the course.

The article argues the relevance and utility of communication theory and models in the research, design and development of computer-mediated information systems. Toward this end, the underlying communication model of early management information systems (MIS), termed the information-transfer (IT) model, is derived. In particular, MIS are examined from seven aspects: epistemological and ideological bases, context, agents, problems addressed, nature and role of communication. The widely acknowledged failures of early MIS are traced to shortcomings of the underlying IT model. A model reflecting recent developments in communication theory is also presented, and state-of-the-art information systems are described and critiqued with reference to both communication models. The critique suggests directions for information-system development based on sounder communication theory.

The Warnier-Orr diagram, a method of designing computer programs, may be adapted for use in designing expository essays. Unlike the traditional outline, it gives equal weight to inclusive and serial relationships between ideas. Used in place of the outline, it clarifies, logically and rhetorically, the development and the organization of ideas in expository essays.

We have developed a method of using simple, commercially available computer simulations to create productive writing cases. Students working with the simulations easily understand their data, audience, and objectives, and they revise intelligently and successfully. We have used The Farm Game, simulating frontier farming in Nebraska, Fur Trader, simulating the life of a Canadian courier du bois, Hamurabi, simulating government problems in a Sumerian city state, King, simulating economic decisions on a Caribbean island, and Stock Market, simulating trading of amplified stocks. We are expanding our library of programs, and we will be happy to serve as a clearinghouse for exchanges of simulations useful to writing teachers.

Traditionally, technical writing has been characterized by impersonal, mechanical, objective prose. However, this attempt to deanthropomorphize reality must ultimately fail because science cannot escape metaphorical language. There is a move in technical writing today toward a personalized, sometimes called “friendly,” writing style which is strikingly evident in many computer textbooks and instructional manuals.

This article emphasizes the growing need for good technical communication in application program development, and relates the usability of program documentation to the productivity of computer systems. It describes in detail the process involved and the human thinking that must accompany the generation of high quality computer user documentation. The methodology described in this paper has been exercised by the author on two major interactive IBM application programs. However, the methodology should not be interpreted as an IBM discipline, and views expressed in this paper are those of the author.

The disciplines of software engineering and technical writing have much in common. Both espouse a structured approach to product development, whether the product is a computer program or a manual describing that program. These disciplinary parallels suggest that technical communicators have more to offer software engineers than our usual writing and editing services. Specifically, this article describes four special services that technical communicators could provide during the first phase of software development, requirements. These services are audience analysis, functional analysis, human factors research, and requirements writing. The goals of these services are to improve the quality of software products and to make the documentation task more efficient.

In a world in which the relationship between science and technology and global problems becomes more intimate each day, we are called upon to deal with new issues. In order to do this effectively, we must know more about the science and technology underlying these problems. It is the task of certain segments of the information media to help their audiences perceive and understand the scientific and technical basis of improved nutrition and health, the limitations of some natural resources and how to cope with these constraints, the machine and computer environment in which we live and which will become ever more complex as microelectronic devices spread throughout our economies — to give only a few examples of the problems we all share.

Dr. Robert S. Harnack and associates have developed a revolutionary method designed to eliminate the disadvantages, but to retain and improve the advantages of unit teaching. The electronic computer is applied to provide teachers with pre-planning suggestions from a large Computer-Based Resource Unit coded to the students' individual characteristics and objectives.

The first section sketches a broad historical framework in which to understand the emergence of the computer and the profession of technical communication and sets the stage by concluding that the computer is both a part of the technological milieu which needs technical communicators and a tool which communicators can use. Then comes a brief review of computer applications in terms of numerical, nonnumerical, and communication applications and dumb, clever, and intelligent program functions. Then the author argues that advances in computer science will narrow the gap between writing computer programs and documenting them to the point where technical communicators in the software field will be programmers. The final section suggests that computing technology will give technical communicators professional autonomy comparable to that currently enjoyed by doctors and lawyers.

Effective use of graphics and skills in analyzing information are two topics that need to be covered in depth in the basic technical writing course. Many kinds of computer printouts can be understood by students from various disciplines. From these printouts, problems, like the ones described here, can be developed to teach graphics skills and analysis concomitantly. Using computer printouts to teach these two important topics has four specific advantages: 1. students become familiar with reading and interpreting computer printouts and learn to separate essential from nonessential data in defining a problem; 2. they learn to write analytic or information reports using computer data only; 3. they gain practice in determining what kind of graphic is best for a specific kind of information; and 4. they gain practice in correlating verbal discussion with visual presentation.

Computer searching, a new information technology which uses a computer to search abstracts, indexes, and reference books, is often available in the corporate library. Computer searching has several applications which are useful for the technical writer. A computer search can uncover current affairs and the latest research findings while they are still newsworthy. The computer can turn up potential markets for authors and locate experts in certain subject fields. It can verify facts and references in manuscripts, locate definitions of new terms, and retrieve all available information for a comprehensive project. This new technology leaves more time for the technical writer to spend in writing rather than researching.

Whether to hire technical graduates or liberal arts graduates to train as technical writers has always been a problem in the computer industry. The technical graduate takes much longer to train as a writer, but he learns the technical subject much more quickly. The more complex the subject, the more likely the technical graduate is to be selected — and the longer it takes for him to become a skilled writer. How the problem was partially solved at NCR by the use of a restricted vocabulary is explained. An unsolved part of the problem is identified, and readers are urged to help find the solution.

This paper summarizes the quality-control methods that the author has used or seen used at five IBM locations that publish various documents. The methods are editing, lead-writer review, peer review, self-review, technical-owner review, reviews by people with special skills, testing, walkthroughs, design review, checklists, mechanical reviews, and user feedback. The author gives his opinions about the advantages and limitations of each method.

The following treatise surveys the issues and approaches for designing a computer system capable of reading, understanding, and writing technical reports. Recent progress in computer science and artificial intelligence research is used to specify the nature of the modules in the system. The processing of a sample text is observed during the phases of reading and writing a report on the origin of sunspots. The author advances some proposals for correlating syntax and semantics of English from a procedural standpoint. The discussion is illustrated with structural diagrams.

The purpose of this paper is to trace in general outlines the historical events which influenced the development of the present state-of-the-art of computer assisted instruction (CAI). The scope of this historical overview includes the salient contributions from the several scientific and engineering disciplines which made CAI possible during the late 1950s.

The copyright reform bill should become law in January, 1978. Among its major revisions are the extension of protection for life plus fifty years and the mitigation of penalties for either omission of notice or “innocent infringement.” For the first time the law specifically identifies “fair use” and certain other copying practices as user rights. The issues of integrity of text and the use of protected text within computer systems have not been treated. The law's text itself remains general in the hope that it will prove to be a flexible vehicle for the future. An era of informal agreements and litigation between publishers and users can be anticipated. Scientific and technical publishing must be recognized as a special area within the publishing community on the verge of change.

A hypothetical situation introduces the reader to the software consultant, an independent businessman who writes computer programs for others and who is a professional communicator. With the customer and a systems analyst to assist the customer, the consultant engages in a communication process which is the core of his business. Each of the three parties has different goals and abilities which affect the design and development of the computer programs. By the use of a simple communication model, a typical software development project is reviewed. Communication is seen as a composite for the project, with the process at each stage forming part of the whole. The paper is descriptive in nature, leaving development of a prescriptive model for the software consultant to future investigation.

This paper reviews the design and use of an instructional system wherein ITV and telephone were linked to a computer. The computer stored instructional materials and presented this material to the learner through its control of ITV broadcast and voice response units.

Cybernetics, the “science” relating the modus operandi of computing machines to man, has fostered a number of myths that cloud the way we talk about computers. And even though these cybernetics myths are not always taken seriously by the philosopher, engineer, or computer programmer, a misleading and imprecise vocabulary of computer logorrhea has evolved which threatens to obscure man's ability to use the electronic computing machine as a tool. This paper represents an inquiry into the roots of several cybernetics-related misconceptions and some of the consequent anthropomorphic nonsense and grammatical falacies which permeate our thinking and our language.

In the Spring 1973 of the Journal, Mr. Petito presented two closely related lectures in note form on the development of manuals, as given at an AMA seminar. The present paper develops computer software documentation with reference to types of documentation, documentation library, and documentation standards.

Evolving from principles observed in telecommunications and servomechanisms, cybernetics is now a broad interdisciplinary science that embraces all biological and environmental activities, including human thought and social organization. Cybernetics provides the unifying basis for various scientific techniques used in business management today, but computer-aided administration and factory automation are only a start. Eventually, comprehensive systems of artificial intelligence will function at the highest level to direct, not merely manage, the total operation of industry, even the administration of society itself. Clearly, there will be marked impact on human communication, especially in scientific and technical publications for marketing and training.

Recent approaches to computerized index preparation have failed to accommodate the flexible nature of index entries and could only be run on large-scale dp systems. A free-form approach is described which allows the author to be as creative in his indexing as he is in his writing. Tailoring the procedure to the facilities of the dp department enables the index to be prepared on a computer system of almost any size.

This paper discusses an interdisciplinary program at Kalamazoo Valley Community College in which the student is trained in several communications media: data processing, engineering graphics, technical reporting (oral and written), as well as various options. Additional work in computer graphics and technical illustration is included.