Technical Writing for Fun and Profit
http://www.ge.uiuc.edu/ge342/technl-writing-fun/funwriting_files/v3_document.htm

Goldberg, David E.
University of Illinois
1999

Abstract:

The average engineering student would rather go to the dentist and have root canal than write a technical report or a memo. This is unfortunate, as a large part of a working engineer’s professional life is spent in writing technical communiqués of one sort or another. Although, the widespread aversion to writing has a variety of causes, I suspect that a large part of the problem is simply not understanding the process and elements of good technical writing. And this comes as no surprise, because many students’ exposure to writing comes in college freshman English, and these courses train the student to write a certain kind of critical essay that is largely useful in passing college freshman English. Remarkably few such courses expose the student to the kinds of business writing they will use for the rest of their lives.