#19085
The 21-Course Undergraduate Program: Strength Through Diversification 
How can diversification strengthen a professional communication program? By capitalizing on faculty backgrounds, a broad variety of courses, and student experience. Here’s how that combination of factors works in the 21-course undergraduate major in professional writing at the University of Houston-Downtown.
Jennings, Ann S. CPTSC Proceedings (2000). Academic>Education>Undergraduate
#30080
Assembly Instructions for a Correct Sentence: The Sentence Diagram 
This workshop explores the whys and hows of sentence diagramming. Knowledge of the time-honored technique can aid editors, writers, and instructors in preventing and correcting pesky errors in sentence structure, including dangling modifiers, misplaced modifiers, and faulty parallelism. Diagramming offers the familiar look of technical drawings, the comforting feel of pencil on paper, and unmatched analytical potential.
Jennings, Ann S. STC Proceedings (1999). Articles>Writing>Grammar
#13680
Technical editors may wish to use their current skills in new ways by editing novels or short stories. This paper explores how, by editing such manuscripts, they create personal links to the complex and demanding world of fiction. A thorough understanding of the similarities and differences between technical editing and fiction editing is crucial, as is knowledge of the characteristics of publishable fiction.
Jennings, Ann S. STC Proceedings (1999). Presentations>Editing
#20322
The use of corporate proprietary information is a major ethics issue in technical communication classrooms and practitionersâ*™ workshops. Some students and practitioners treat these settings as safe and sterile bubbles in which all present will honor confidences. Their actions cause ethical and legal dilemmas for fellow students, colleagues, and professors. Methods of preventing such dilemmas include student-employeesâ*™ following the codes of conduct established by their employers, practitionersâ*™ observing the behavioral codes set out by their professional organizations, and professorsâ*™ stressing ethical behavior in the classroom.
Jennings, Ann S. STC Proceedings (1998). Articles>TC>Ethics
#24354
Mystery fiction and technical writing share certain requirements: audience analysis, foreshadowing, research, showing and telling. Without audience analysis, a mystery novel may startle would-be readers of a bloodless cozy with violence suited to a hard-boiled detective story. A technical document may use a “for dummies” approach when an expert approach is appropriate. Without foreshadowing, a mystery may fail to provide characters with logical precursors to subsequent behaviors. A technical document may fail to introduce basic terms before sophisticated ones. Both types of writing benefit from accurate research and from showing and telling.
Jennings, Ann S. STC Proceedings (1998). Articles>TC>Audience Analysis
#30089
Mystery Fiction and the Technical Communicator: Emotion Separates Fiction from Fact
Although technical documents and mysteries share certain characteristics, emotion separates the two types of writing. Mystery fiction may be popular among technical communicators because it engages both the analytical and the emotive parts of the readers' personality. This panel presentation describes techniques that mystery authors use to trigger readers' emotions. An awareness of these techniques can help technical communicators understand their affection for mysteries and stay clear about the purpose of their own work.
Jennings, Ann S. STC Proceedings (1999). Articles>Writing>TC>Emotions
#26526
Program Revision and Assessment
Four presentations about program assessment and the revisions to programs that they suggest.
Eble, Michelle F., Ann S. Jennings, Janice Tovey and Sherry Southard. CPTSC (2005). Presentations>Education>Assessment
#15202
Teaching a Workshop on Sentence Diagramming
Demonstrates how sentence diagramming can be an effective writing tool and offers tips on how it should be taught.
Jennings, Ann S. Intercom (2002). Articles>Education>Editing>Grammar
#22362
Review: Web Design Tools and Techniques 
Peter Kentie's new book bridges a gap between books for beginning Web designers and advanced works for practitioners interested primarily in the usability of Web pages.
Jennings, Ann S. Technical Communication Online (2003). Articles>Reviews>Web Design
#34196
Creating Marketing Slides for Engineering Presentations
Defines basic sales terms. Explores ways to use text and illustrations to create engineering marketing slides. Examines six methods of strengthening the persuasiveness of engineering marketing slides.
Jennings, Ann S. Technical Communication Online (2009). Articles>Presentations>Marketing>Engineering
