Technical Writing in a Technological University: Attitudes of Department Chairs

Norbert Elliot New Jersey Institute of Technology ; Margaret Kilduff New Jersey Institute of Technology

Abstract

Technical writing will become increasingly important to the nation's engineering interests in the 21st century. To meet a national agenda of competitiveness, writing program administrators must build courses and programs that are sensitive to unique institutional perceptions about writing. By means of a quantitative and qualitative methodology, the present study describes the perceptions of technical writing held by department heads at a technological university. Using a combined survey method and structured interview process, we investigate how department chairs felt about the contents, instruction, and assessment of a technical writing course. We also investigate perceptions about writing products and processes. Based on our experiences with the survey, we call for writing program administrators to study the institutional context for courses and programs in technical writing.

Journal
Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Published
1991-10-01
DOI
10.2190/hl9k-3wl3-nnvk-up2d
Open Access
Closed
Topics

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (3)

  1. Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  2. Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  3. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication

Cites in this index (4)

  1. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  2. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  3. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  4. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Also cites 7 works outside this index ↓
  1. 10.2190/NETC11
  2. 10.1002/ir.37019802708
  3. 10.2307/356600
  4. 10.2307/375964
  5. 10.1080/10510977809367982
  6. Krieger J., Winds of Revolution Sweep through Science Education, C&EN, pp. 27–43, June 11, 1990.
  7. 10.1177/104438949007100212
CrossRef global citation count: 6 View in citation network →