Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Apr 1988

Toward Competent Writing in the Workplace

Richard H. Haswell Washington State University

Abstract

Findings from a comparison of undergraduate and on-the-job writers recommend some changes in traditional methods of teaching technical writing in college. Freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and “competent” writers in business and industry were given the same composing task. The writing of the employees showed telling and sometimes unexpected differences in a wide variety of areas, in length, vocabulary, organization, specificity, coherence, sentence formation, and surface error. Implied is increased attention to several general writing skills: compression of meaning, fluency of expression, efficiency in techniques of coherence, expandability of organization and syntax, and rhetorical maneuverability and adaptability.

Journal
Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Published
1988-04-01
DOI
10.2190/gjdl-t8y0-wh12-fwuw
Open Access
Closed
Topics
writing across the curriculum technical communication multilingual writers

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (1)

  1. Quick (2012)
    From the Workplace to Academia: Nontraditional Students and the Relevance of Wo…
    Technical Communication Quarterly

Cites in this index (5)

  1. Haswell (1986)
    The Organization of Impromptu Essays
    College Composition and Communication
  2. Lunsford et al. (1986)
    Why write . . . together: A research update∗
    Rhetoric Review
  3. Odell et al. (1982)
    Writing in a Non- Academic Setting
    Research in the Teaching of English
  4. Braddock (1974)
    The Frequency and Placement of Topic Sentences in Expository Prose
    Research in the Teaching of English
  5. Riley (1964)
    Sentence Openers in Freshman Writing
    College English
Also cites 10 works outside this index ↓
  1. 10.2307/356630
     ↗
  2. 10.2307/356369
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  3. 10.2307/357405
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  4. 10.2307/1165818
     ↗
  5. 10.2307/356588
     ↗
  6. 10.2307/356602
     ↗
  7. 10.2307/357491
     ↗
  8. 10.2307/377272
     ↗
  9. 10.1080/00220671.1971.10884258
     ↗
  10. 10.1177/002194367901600302
     ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 2 View in citation network →

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