A technical writer must keep the needs of his readers in mind. His primary purpose is to explain technical material, and a key to accomplishing this is simplicity. Factors to be concerned with are abstract words and meanings, generalization, passive description, capitalization, and hyphenation.

Excerpts from Thomas Sprat's History of the Royal Society, published in 1667, are used to explore the parallels existing between the rise of modern scientific and technical writing and the rise of seventeenth century science. The author of this paper shows how the English teachers of today, like the scholastic critics of the past, are too often isolated from the realities of communication. He quotes Thomas Sprat to emphasize that communication techniques should not be studied at a distance. The practice of scientific and technical writing must be brought closer to the university. Doing consulting work is one possibility; another is conducting communication research for business and industry. Additional specialized courses should be introduced for students specializing in the professions. English majors planning to work full time in communication should have internships provided. Sprat recognized that a bridge must exist between science and the humanities. This applies as well to the present condition.

This paper describes how members of the technical writing class at Rice University handled a major writing assignment that stimulated student interest and integrated many of the skills taught in the course. Phases of the assignment dealt with preparing of a memo describing the problem or question, the writing of an investigative report, organizing feasibility studies, and choosing the right audiences. Some of the feasibility studies attacked problems concerning the university. Others concerned community problems and summer job experiences. Included in the assignment were videotaped oral presentations.

This is an expanded version of an evaluation originally given at the International Technical Communication Conference, Washington, D.C., 1976. The questionnaire was an attempt to get in touch with as many graduates of Rensselaer's Master's Program in Technical Communication as possible and to find out their reactions to the curriculum. The questions covered such topics as present and past occupations, usefulness of the Rensselaer curriculum, recommended curriculum changes, making use of invited speakers, degree of emphasis on style and format, supplementary courses, contact with professional writers, and adoption of new techniques.

This is one of the papers from technical writing students that the Journal publishes from time to time. Lt. Meyer, formerly a student at New Jersey Institute of Technology, discusses static and dynamic audiovisual aids. Included are flip charts, graphs, pictures, transparencies, slides, cassette tapes, and movies.

Technical writing involves more than simply the “nuts and bolts” of preparing a good report. Good technical writing must be an effective communication, and in order for the writer (source) to obtain the desired response from the reader (receiver), he must have a clear conceptualization of the communication process. He must realize that the source, the message, the channel, and the receiver are important variables that influence the success of technical communication. The technical writer must be aware of the “filter” stages the receiver moves through before ultimately making a response to the message. The technical writer who creates a proper meld of the basics of good technical writing with an understanding of the communication process can produce an effective technical communication.

Addressing the professional communicator, the technical writing teacher and the interested student, this article discusses Benjamin Franklin's major contributions to the development of technical communication. While the article centers on Franklin's technical writing style as a model for today's technical communicator, it also outlines Franklin's philosophy of technical communication and his incisive views of the scientist's role in society.

Richard W. Schmelzer, the author of this article on the first textbook written for technical writing classes, knows his subject from firsthand experience. He was one of the first teachers assigning The Preparation of Reports to future engineers. In this paper he pays tribute to Dr. Ray Palmer Baker, an early authority on modern technical communication and the author of The Preparation of Reports.

Textbooks describing scientific or technical writing as “impartial” or “objective” are too restrictive. As advances in the history of science have familiarized us with the importance of the human element in science, so the human element must also be given its due in writing in the area. Our students will often be engaged in communication that involves adaptation for an audience relatively unfamiliar with the subject being presented, and they must be aware that the personal touch can arouse interest and sharpen awareness and understanding. History can serve as a source of writing models that successfully use the personal touch.

Case problems based upon believable circumstances can improve instruction in technical writing in college courses and industrial seminars. Such case problems give students and trainees realistic tasks, carry them through the various stages of writing a report, and reflect the systems approach to technical writing. This article explains the usefulness of case problems, suggests ways and criteria for their preparation, and offers a brief example of a case problem.

The author of this article has observed the needs of the manual writer from two viewpoints, that of the technical writing teacher and that of the consultant to industry. He offers several suggestions for helping the manual writer through attention to resource materials, planning of courses, organization, and style and mechanics.

The problems with flawed technical documents are frequently problems of a larger nature. When the subject to be described is itself amorphous or internally illogical, technical writing may only dutifully reproduce the inherent confusion. Writers should be alert to identifying these problems and assisting product/procedure designers in eliminating confusion at its source.

Described are techniques which relate to the impact of communications on the reader. An awareness by authors and editors of the techniques available through readability research studies leads to significant savings in time and effort, as well as increased benefits in comprehension and learning of the reader. Examples of use in technical publications show how exchanges between author and reader can be more effective and productive. The techniques have wide application also to publications of all kinds, and provide a valuable resource to achieve optimum results in communication or information products. The discussion is based on the knowledge and experience gained by the writer through academic and practical applications in editing and preparing a wide variety of general and technical communications.

W. Earl Britton's and Merril D. Whitburn's views on freshman English and technical writing are not as much in conflict as the titles of their recent articles may suggest. The two courses are solutions to two different problems, namely the communicative skills required by undergraduates and by graduate engineers. Experience at the University of the Witwatersrand indicates that two courses, one given at the beginning of the undergraduate course and one at the end, would be an ideal solution. Where a crowded curriculum permits only one course, the compromise solution requires elements from both types of courses.

“The aim of technology is not the triumph of matter, it is the triumph of man” (Louis Armand, Essays on Machines, Technology, and the Life of the Mind). Because the typical layman does not understand the scientific and technological accomplishments of our nation, a modern educational program must be created to bridge the gulf of misunderstanding between the scientist and the nonscientist. The underlying success of this creative program is founded on the effectiveness of technical communication.

For the purpose of continually improving an English teacher training program, an attempt was made to research the expected competencies of reading instructors in relation to technical report writers. Interviews were conducted with those involved in the teaching of technical report writing. The interviews reflected very little familiarity with reading instruction at the college level. The results were coupled with current research findings on training and duties of college reading instructors. This suggested a possible strategy for improving services to technical report writing students.

The traditional preoccupation with `correctness' and `clarity' in technical writing frequently goes hand in hand with a neglect of the reader's point of view which results in publications of such poor quality that instead of admiring them one should consider them unacceptable. Robert Pirsig's `Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance' includes an exploration of this problem and a reexamination of the relationship between `objectivity' and quality.

External examiners drawn from industry and from other universities have been used in a course in technical writing. The evolution of this scheme is described and other teachers of technical writing are urged to adopt it.

Information, commands, and requirements not only must be understood—they must be credible too. That is, they must be such that they change the knowledge or understanding of the readers, or else they demand appropriate action. These introductory notes explain under what circumstance statements need to be made more credible and they explain how to add credibility at the clause, sentence, paragraph, and section levels. Principles of syllogistic reasoning, analogies, and experimental reasoning are also discussed. Brief mention is made of the related instruction for students and professional engineers.

This panel is sponsored by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Group on Professional Communications. It is intended as an open discussion; we are restricting ourselves to technical composition and especially the problem of the composition of mathematics. I am going to ask each of our panelists to make a few statements about their views of “the problem.” When these are complete, we expect and hope that you will participate in the discussion. Today's objectives are to add (possibly) one more straw to the pile, in the hope that someone, somewhere, someday will be able to set a page of mathematics for $10 “as it used to be.”

This paper points out that producing good technical documents requires two types of editing. It discusses the differences between literary and technical editing, and defines the facets of editing that are of primary concern to the literary editor and to the technical editor. It emphasizes the need for both types of editing at different stages of manuscript development, regardless of whether each type is done by different people or by the same person at different times. In short, the literary editor is primarily concerned with things involving the language and mechanics of writing and producing a document, while the technical editor is primarily concerned with the document's technical content and how well it is presented to the intended audience.

The business or technical writing teacher can mitigate against his pragmatic students' recalcitrance toward language studies by pointing out the utility of knowing how to write well. However, rather than turning to hackneyed arguments or to literary evidence, he can motivate students more effectively by turning to compelling testimonials from leaders in business and industry, to appropriate personal experiences, and to stimulating classroom strategies that emphasize the importance of language ability in career, social, and civic aspirations. The lively use of such readily available resources can improve student attitude toward the course and should thus improve student performance.

This article has been adapted by the author from a paper presented to the first technical communications seminar held at The New South Wales Institute of Technology in June 1974. Discussed are some elements and techniques of editing from the author's experiences as an editor in Australia and which may be applicable to other countries. Format, typography, printing, the duties of the editor, the instruction manual, and liaison are some of the topics discussed.

The traditional instruction of technical report writing leans heavily on the conventions of English grammar and on principles advocated by grammarians, journalists, and literature scholars. The effect has been so strong—particularly in North America—that the word “technical” in technical writer, technical writing, and technical reports has literally become almost meaningless. This article discusses a few important differences between technical and nontechnical writing. It also explains some shortcomings of the traditional instruction and suggests methods of improvement.

Though surrounded by fascinating and challenging subjects, too many engineers and scientists write dull reports and papers. More attention to verbs can help alleviate dullness and can promote such qualities as vividness, directness, force, and interest. Passive verb forms can be changed to active; combinations of passive verbs with other lifeless verbs can be reduced through subordination and elimination; and normalized verbs (verbs forced into noun functions) can be used as true verbs. An improved approach to technical writing is suggested.

Technical writers apparently show little concern with the measurement of readability, defined as level of reading comprehension. Some evidence and reasons for this indifference are presented. Three current methods of measuring readability are described. Two readability formulas involving word load and sentence load are the Dale-Chall, which uses a word-list, and the Fry, which uses a graph. The cloze procedure is a non-formula technique which involves the reader as well as the material being evaluated. The application of these methods is illustrated with passages of technical writing of varying difficulty. Some implications and applications of readability concepts are indicated.

The writing of scientists and engineers is severely criticized, but the critics seldom dig into the reasons for its supposed weaknesses and faults. By analyzing technical writing, however, one finds that many of the `faults' are justifiable if not carried to extremes, and if not used inappropriately when writing for nontechnical audiences.

document were highly correlated with frequencies from the remaining parts of the document, particu larly in technical writing. For this reason, the trigram frequencies were gathered from the document being analyzed even though this nearly doubled the running time of the program.

The simple conjunctions of the English language are defined in terms of truth tables to show the relationship between logic and linguistic coupling words. Some principles and problems of deduction in technical writing are discussed in terms: of linguistic couplers, of the technical level necessary for understanding the premises, and of the criteria for judging arguments in different fields of reasoning. This is an introductory paper; it discusses several related principles of technical reasoning, and it provides detailed references and a brief annotated bibliography for those who wish to read further.

The use of cassette tape recorders in evaluating technical reports is spreading in college technical writing classes and may have application outside the classroom as well. The technique, which enables instructors to make more effective critiques of student papers, meets with favorable student response and need not be expensive. This report describes the use of cassette grading at the University of Idaho and makes suggestions for those who wish to try the method themselves.

W. Earl Britton's proposal to substitute technical writing for freshman English is not convincing. The proposal rests on questionable beliefs about the two courses. Freshman English is not neglecting to emphasize the development of communications skills, and technical writing cannot be broadened enough to replace freshman English without becoming a course in freshman English. Both courses have important roles to play in the university. Freshman English should continue to concern itself with general communications skills, and technical writing should continue to involve the application of these skills to special kinds of communication.

In the fall of 1972, the Department of Humanities of the College of Engineering at the University of Michigan adopted a lecture-recitation format for its required course in scientific and technical communication. The recitations were conducted by graduate student teaching assistants of which I was one. Though I found my educational background, which was in electrical engineering, to be an advantage rather than a disadvantage in many ways, there were certain aspects of the department, the course, and the teaching techniques of my colleagues that I did not originally anticipate. This article presents some of these.

Most technically orientated students are never exposed to lessons in effective technical writing skills. Yet, knowing how to express oneself properly is a necessity in today's technical world. The technical writer must use correct grammar and exact language in his descriptions of precise, technical subjects. He must learn how to adapt his personal style to the impact he wants to make. In addition, he must also learn how to communicate to various levels of audiences, for not all of his readers will possess the same knowledge about a subject. Also, he must learn to use graphic aids in the presentation of an article.

Technical writers and editors can organize and teach an effective course in technical writing if they are briefed on the criteria and receive the support of management.

The roles and importance of sentence-coupling conjunctions in general technical writing are analyzed. Based on a previous paper (which explained the meanings of these coupling words), this paper examines ways of improving logical argument, of providing continuity of thought between sentences, and of improving readability. Useful redundancy and punctuation are also briefly discussed in relation to coupling words. Comparative tables of incidental couplers, determiners, and redundant couplers are provided as practical aids to the technical writer and editor.

Three present-day developments are very likely to have a major influence upon technical writing in the nineteen eighties. These are: interactive lectures, information storage and retrieval, and the development of an ultra-small electronic camera for movies, television, and still pictures. Carefully tested interactive lectures will provide individual attention for learners at the time it is most needed. Under a perfected system of information storage and retrieval, the technical writer would suggest to the reader the kinds of information to request from a nation-wide information bank. He would also assist in the screening of information so that learners would not be deluged by surplus information. The small electronic camera will enable the technical writer to illustrate his instructions on the user's TV set. Thus, the technical writer of the eighties could well become a writer-producer.

Careless use of certain pronouns in technical writing today causes communication to be a fuzzy and inept as many other writing flaws. The pronouns most commonly misused are the demonstratives, this and that with their plurals these and those ; such relatives as which , who , whom , and that , and the anticipatory expletive it . Eliminating the irritating and confusing aspects of these often misused pronouns is simple. More effective and efficient technical communication will result.

Replacing freshman English with technical writing seems logical because the freshman course stresses essays by uninformed students directed to well informed teachers, who encourage the inductive pattern and pay more attention to the writer than to the communication. Moreover, essays are rarely encountered after college. Technical writing, despite its misleading name, is applicable to all fields because it emphasizes efficiency, precision, and communicative effectiveness. The information flows from the knowledgeable to the uninformed, is normally arranged deductively, and focuses upon the reader. Intellectually and rhetorically demanding, it belongs in all professional training.

Technical papers should be constructed as coherent wholes, using those organizational, stylistic, and informational devices necessary to communicate their intended message to the intended audience. Since messages and audience vary tremendously, so also must techniques of technical writing. The technical writer will find that techniques normally associated with the writing of fiction, including creation of hypothetical situations, composite characters, invented dialogue, and dramatic story lines, aid greatly in achieving improved technical communication.

This paper discusses some of the main reasons for the weakness of much technical writing. It suggests that in teaching college-level students in science and engineering curricula the writing teacher should focus mainly on those weak areas, many of which are neglected in high school English courses or in traditional freshman English. If scientific and technical writers can be taught to make a rigorous intellectual analysis of their writing and can be steered away from simplistic and simple-minded formulas they will come to have enough respect for writing as an intellectual discipline that they can be motivated to bring about actual improvement in their written work.

be described as "the way you write," rather than as "proper words in proper places" or "the dress of thoughts," then their thesis is that your style should be such that the reader will do with your report, or because of your report, what you would have him do.Their comments on style and their own easy familiar way with words combine to make Technical Writing a good example as well as a collection of precepts.details are given adequate recognition.Some of the Suggestions for Writing are comprehensive and some specific; some of the Sentences for Revision involve simple matters, others present challenges.Worthy of note is the excellent treat ment, in all Sections, of the structural and logical aspects of planning a tech

Security classification in science and technology has aroused strong feelings, but there is little objective information about its effects. This paper presents the opposing, and highly subjective, points of view; summarizes objective studies of information flow; and reports an investigation of the flow of restricted and unrestricted information in a large research-and-development laboratory. The investigation showed that security classifications had little effect on the laboratory's procedure and output; however, additional research is indicated. Altogether this paper demonstrates the feasibility of obtaining empirical data on the effects of security classification on technical communication-data that are much needed, in view of the ongoing controversy.

Holt, Rinehart and Winston have recently published two works on technical communication. Both of these are third editions of text-books which give chapter-end suggestions for writing-practice. As the two volumes cover about the same material, effort will be made here to point out dissimilarities in content, organization, and tone.

Professors emeritii from both engineering and the humanities can usefully serve as External Examiners to determine the student's final grade in a scientific and technical communication course.

Research in communication is continually underway in universities and colleges. This paper presents one project carried out in the stylistics of technical writing. A number of technical articles were examined; they ranged from report writing to professional and trade publications. The conclusions, while not definite, do shed some light on the difference between technical and nontechnical writing.