Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Jul 2006

Ten Engineers Reading: Disjunctions between Preference and Practice in Civil Engineering Faculty Responses

Summer Smith Taylor ; Martha D. Patton

Abstract

Previous research has indicated that engineering faculty do not follow best practices when commenting on students' technical writing. However, it is unclear whether the faculty prefer to comment in these ineffective ways, or whether they prefer more effective practices but simply do not enact them. This study adapts a well known study of response in composition to ask whether engineering faculty prefer authoritative, form-focused comments, or whether they may prefer to write different sorts of comments. We asked ten civil engineering faculty to comment on a sample paper and then rank their preferences for provided versions of comments on the same paper. One provided version emphasized comments on content, one emphasized comments on form, and one was balanced. Comparisons of the respondents' preferences and practices suggest that the engineering faculty recognize and value content-focused, non-authoritative responses, but generally do not write comments that conform to these values. We consider the implication of these findings for research on response to technical writing as well as for technical writing faculty in their own course. While recognizing the need for more research, we also discuss ways in which writing professionals, including WAC administrators and technical writing professors, can encourage engineering faculty to enact their preferences for response styles that reflect best practices.

Journal
Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Published
2006-07-01
DOI
10.2190/07ll-2k2m-27kh-cx1w
Topics
writing across the curriculum technical communication multilingual writers voice and style

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (4)

  1. Melonçon et al. (2018)
    Advocating for Sustainability: A Report on and Critique of the Undergraduate Ca…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  2. Charney (2015)
    Getting to “How Do You Know?” Rather Than “So What?” From “What's New?”
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  3. Taylor (2011)
    “I Really Don't Know What He Meant by That”: How Well Do Engineering Students U…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  4. Taylor (2007)
    Comments on Lab Reports by Mechanical Engineering Teaching Assistants
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication

Cites in this index (11)

  1. Taylor (2006)
    Assessment in Client-Based Technical Writing Classes: Evolution of Teacher and …
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  2. Dannels (2003)
    Teaching and Learning Design Presentations in Engineering
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  3. Brinkman et al. (2003)
    Assessment of Communication Competencies in Engineering Design Projects
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  4. Smith (2003)
    What is "Good"Technical Communication? A Comparison of the Standards of Writing…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  5. Smith (2003)
    The Role of Technical Expertise in Engineering and Writing Teachers’ Evaluation…
    Written Communication
Show all 11 →
  1. Blakeslee (2001)
    Bridging the Workplace and the Academy: Teaching Professional Genres through Cl…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  2. Breuch (2001)
    The Overruled Dust Mite: Preparing Technical Cormmunication Students to Interac…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  3. Gruber et al. (1999)
    <i>Writing4practice</i> in engineering courses: Implementation and …
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  4. Miller et al. (1998)
    Responding to technical writing in an introductory engineering class: The role …
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  5. PRIOR (1991)
    Contextualizing Writing and Response in a Graduate Seminar
    Written Communication
  6. Sommers (1982)
    Responding to Student Writing
    College Composition and Communication
Also cites 2 works outside this index ↓
  1. 10.1002/tl.37219821209
     ↗
  2. 10.1007/BF00117715
     ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 5 View in citation network →

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