Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Jan 2007

Expressive/Exploratory Technical Writing (XTW) in Engineering: Shifting the Technical Writing Curriculum

Scott Warnock ; Michael Kahn

Abstract

While the importance of “expressive writing,” or informal, self-directed writing, has been well established, teachers underutilize it, particularly in technical writing courses. We introduce the term expressive/exploratory technical writing (XTW), which is the use of informal, self-directed writing to problem-solve in technical fields. We describe how engineering students resist writing, despite decades of research showing its importance to their careers, and we suggest that such resistance may be because most students only see writing as an audience-driven performance and thus incompletely understand the link between writing and thinking. The treatment of invention in rhetorical history supports their view. We describe two examples of using XTW in software engineering to plan programming tasks. We conclude by discussing how a systematic use of XTW could shift the technical writing curriculum, imbuing the curriculum with writing and helping students see how to problem-solve using natural language.

Journal
Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Published
2007-01-01
DOI
10.2190/9127-p120-r277-0812
Topics
archival research technical communication multilingual writers

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (1)

  1. Randazzo (2022)
    Bodies of Proof: COVID-19 and Unwitnessed Remote Work
    Technical Communication Quarterly

Cites in this index (7)

  1. Zielinska (2005)
    The Implications of the Role of Models in Empirical Sciences for Constructing t…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  2. Gruber et al. (1999)
    <i>Writing4practice</i> in engineering courses: Implementation and …
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  3. ELBOW (1999)
    In Defense of Private Writing
    Written Communication
  4. WINSOR (1999)
    Genre and Activity Systems
    Written Communication
  5. Mirel et al. (1998)
    Social and cognitive effects of professional communication on software usability
    Technical Communication Quarterly
Show all 7 →
  1. GEISLER et al. (1998)
    Disciplining Discourse
    Written Communication
  2. WINSOR (1994)
    Invention and Writing in Technical Work
    Written Communication
Also cites 3 works outside this index ↓
  1. 10.2307/1350110
     ↗
  2. 10.1037/11193-000
     ↗
  3. 10.1177/1075547005278350
     ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 5 View in citation network →

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