A Survey of Recent Technical Writing Textbooks

Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Oct 1997

A Survey of Recent Technical Writing Textbooks

Bernard McKenna Queensland University of Technology ; Glen Thomas Queensland University of Technology

Abstract

A large number of technical writing textbooks, many of them revised editions, is entering the college education marketplace. This review of five recent textbooks not only thoroughly analyses the content of the texts, but also raises two serious concerns. The survey finds that the textbooks provide inadequate guidance on paragraph structure. The survey also reveals that this textbook genre appears to rely upon a scanty, and sometimes dated, theory base. The authors ask whether this could lead to the production of manuals based upon “received wisdom,” rather than professional writing guides based upon sound communication theory.

Journal: Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Published: 1997-10-01
DOI: 10.2190/cga9-cvjy-82cx-aefj
Open Access: Closed
Topics: technical communication professional writing

Citation Context

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Cites in this index (1)

Klein et al. (1997)

Policies and Procedures

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Also cites 1 work outside this index ↓

10.1093/applin/18.2.189

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CrossRef global citation count: 5 View in citation network →