Assessing Existing Engineering Communication Programs: Lessons Learned from a Pilot Study  

Increased support for greater accountability and assessment of engineering communication programs have led many schools of engineering and technology to initiate methods of assessing the quality of their students’ engineering communication abilities. In my institution, I have spearheaded the pilot year of such a program, and, as anticipated, have learned several valuable lessons that may be of interest to others interested in developing assessment procedures for engineering communication programs.

Rush Hovde, Marjorie. CPTSC Proceedings (2000). Academic>Education>Engineering>Assessment

Tactics for Building Images of Audience in Organizational Contexts: An Ethnographic Study of Technical Communicators    

Discourse theories frequently emphasize the importance of understanding audience but seldom delve into how writers form conceptions of their audiences, especially in organizations. This study examines computer documentation writers' tactics for conceiving of their audiences. Based on two ethnographic case studies and insights from activity theory, the author describes and evaluates technical communicators' tactics for understanding audiences, constrained and supported by their organizations. She discusses the advantages and limitations of each tactic, looking at how each tactic might answer questions about audience. This research should be useful to technical communication educators as they expand students' options for audience research in nonacademic settings. In addition, the findings of this study can enhance theories about the ways writers create images of their audiences.

Rush Hovde, Marjorie. Journal of Business and Technical Communication (2000). Articles>Rhetoric>Audience Analysis