Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Oct 1982

The Rise of Technical Writing Instruction in America

Robert J. Connors

Abstract

This article traces the history of technical writing instruction in American colleges, concentrating on the major figures in technical writing instruction, the most important textbooks, the forces that shaped courses in technical writing during the period 1900–1980, and the refinements and improvements in teaching and materials that led to the current growth and success of technical writing courses.

Journal
Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Published
1982-10-01
DOI
10.1177/004728168201200406
Topics
writing pedagogy technical communication race and writing

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (47)

  1. Gubala et al. (2025)
    Bringing the Technical and Professional Communication Service Course Back
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  2. Swarts (2025)
    The Construction of Data Usability
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  3. Sánchez (2025)
    Professional Writers’ Emotions, Beliefs, and Decisions Regarding Their English Major
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  4. Rose et al. (2024)
    The Paradigm Shift to UX and the Durability of Usability in TPC
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  5. Mallette (2024)
    Listening, Reflecting, and Learning: A Methodology for Engineering Communicatio…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
Show all 47 →
  1. Duncan (2024)
    Conferences With the Engineers: The Innovative Pedagogy and Career of Sada Harb…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  2. Pflugfelder et al. (2023)
    Expanding the Scope and Scale of Risk in TPC: Water Access and the Colorado Riv…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  3. Johnson-Eilola et al. (2023)
    Technical Communication as Assemblage
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  4. Stambler (2022)
    “An Excelent Good Remedi”: Medical Recipes as Ethos-Building Tactical Technical…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  5. Melonçon et al. (2020)
    A Field-Wide Metasynthesis of Pedagogical Research in Technical and Professiona…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  6. Sánchez (2019)
    Trans Students’ Right to Their Own Gender in Professional Communication Courses…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  7. Read et al. (2018)
    Hidden in plain sight: findings from a survey on the multi-major professional w…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  8. Mallette (2017)
    Writing and Women’s Retention in Engineering
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  9. Sánchez (2017)
    The Roles of Technical Communication Researchers in Design Scholarship
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  10. Kimball (2017)
    The Golden Age of Technical Communication
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  11. Rude (2015)
    Building Identity and Community Through Research
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  12. Selber (2010)
    A Rhetoric of Electronic Instruction Sets
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  13. Savage et al. (2010)
    Technical Communication Internship Requirements in the Academic Economy: How We…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  14. Whitburn (2009)
    The First Weeklong Technical Writers’ Institute and Its Impact
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  15. Whithaus et al. (2006)
    Contact and Interactivity: Social Constructionist Pedagogy in a Video-Based, Ma…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  16. Coppola (2006)
    Guest Editor's Introduction: Communication in Technology Transfer and Diffusion…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  17. Moore (2006)
    Legitimizing Technical Communication in English Departments: Carolyn Miller's “…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  18. Bridgeford (2006)
    REVIEW
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  19. Wilson (2001)
    Technical Communication and Late Capitalism
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  20. HERNDL et al. (2000)
    Research as Social Practice
    Written Communication
  21. Smith (2000)
    Strength in the Technical Communication Journals and Diversity in the Serials Cited
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  22. Savage (1999)
    The Process and Prospects for Professionalizing Technical Communication
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  23. Staples (1999)
    Technical communication from 1950–1998: Where are we now?
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  24. Kynell (1999)
    Technical communication from 1850–1950: Where have we been?
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  25. MacNealy et al. (1999)
    Can This Marriage Be Saved: Is an English Department a Good Home for Technical …
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  26. Gurak et al. (1997)
    Technical Communication Research: From Traditional to Virtual
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  27. Staples (1997)
    Review
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  28. Savage (1996)
    Redefining the ResponsibiIities of Teachers and the Social Position of the Tech…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  29. Warren (1996)
    An Informal Survey of Technical Writing Textbooks: 1950–1970
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  30. HAGGE (1995)
    Early Engineering Writing Textbooks and the Anthropological Complexity of Disci…
    Written Communication
  31. Kynell (1995)
    English as an Engineering Tool: Samuel Chandler Earle and the Tufts Experiment
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  32. Sanders et al. (1994)
    Reviews
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  33. RIVERS (1994)
    Studies in the History of Business and Technical Writing
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  34. Moran (1993)
    The road not taken: Frank Aydelotte and the thought approach to engineering writing
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  35. SLACK et al. (1993)
    The Technical Communicator as Author
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  36. RUSSELL (1993)
    The Ethics of Teaching Ethics in Professional Communication
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  37. Tebeaux et al. (1992)
    Expanding and redirecting historical research in technical writing: In search o…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  38. Reynolds (1992)
    Classical rhetoric and the teaching of technical writing
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  39. Elliot et al. (1991)
    Technical Writing in a Technological University: Attitudes of Department Chairs
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  40. Rutter (1991)
    History, Rhetoric, and Humanism: Toward a More Comprehensive Definition of Tech…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  41. German et al. (1987)
    Making Technical Communication a Real-World Exercise: A Report of Classroom and…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  42. Grego (1987)
    Science, Late Nineteenth-Century Rhetoric, and the Beginnings of Technical Writ…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication

Cites in this index (1)

  1. Wellborn (1960)
    Is the Technical Student Short-Changed in College?
    College English
Also cites 5 works outside this index ↓
  1. 10.1021/ed033p55
     ↗
  2. 10.1109/TEWS.1958.6592306
     ↗
  3. 10.2307/354886
     ↗
  4. 10.1109/TEWS.1967.4322300
     ↗
  5. 10.2307/354857
     ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 77 View in citation network →

Related Articles

  1. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Jan 2017
    Wearable Writing ↗
    Jason Chew Kit Tham
    first-year composition writing pedagogy qualitative research multimodality technical communication race and writing
  2. Written Communication Jan 2026
    Modeling Writing Processes and Predicting Text Quality in Technical Communication ↗
    Zhijun Gao; Lin Dong; Jiangying Wang
    writing pedagogy multimodality technical communication
  3. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Jan 2026
    Trans and Queer Visibility in an Era of Hyper Surveillance: A User Experience Study of University Systems for Sharing Gender Pronouns ↗
    McKinley Green
    multimodality technical communication race and writing
  4. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Jan 2026
    Lessons in Security Logics from Cold-War Guatemala ↗
    Brittany Halley; Elizabeth Velasquez
    technical communication race and writing
  5. Composition Forum Oct 2025
    Collaborative and Equitable Assessment: Graduate Student Responses to Co-Creating Feedback Guidelines in a Graduate Composition Pedagogy Course ↗
    writing pedagogy race and writing disability studies multilingual writers