#14969
Careers In Technical Writing: Advising English Majors
Headlines on high technology are attracting the interest of undergraduates who aren't sure what they can do with an English major, of graduate students in English who find college teaching jobs increasingly scarce, and even of college English teachers who are hearing tempting rumors of undreamt-of consulting opportunities. Those of us who teach English in growing centers of high technology find our students and colleagues curious about this lucrative but vaguely threatening new field for liberal arts majors, while technical writing classes designed for science and engineering students are attracting (or stealing) increasing numbers of these majors. This paper provides the necessary background on the technical writing field for college English teachers who need to advise English majors and minors about career choices. My description of the profession is based on my recent experience as a technical editor for over four years. I've brought together surveys in professional journals, occupational literature available in college placement offices, and 1980 census data, as well as the more current monthly publications of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Both the statistics and my own observations confirm that, for English majors and minors with appropriate aptitude for and attitude toward the sciences, technical writing promises a potentially rewarding career.
Norman, Rose L. Modern Language Association (1986). Careers>TC
#20375
No one has found a way to really help writers create readable prose. Robert Gunning developed a method for calculating the 'Fog Index' and Rudolph Flesch worked out more than one formula for measuring the simplicity of writing. By one of Flesch's formulas (the one without personal pronouns), Ronald S. Lemos in the February, 1985 issue of Communications of the ACM (CACM) was able to prove that CACM required two less years of school to read than Datamation. Statistics can prove anything. I have no idea what Sophomore in High School could read the CACM cover to cover and even understand most of it. Flesch's book 'The Art of Plain Talk' was given to me at a Yourdon Systems Analysis course. The Instructor handed it to each of us, saying something like 'read this and you'll be a manager in no time' (supposedly, management is handed to the least efficient person who can also write well). The book is full of examples, mostly journalistic, showing how good writers evoke human interest. Of course, these writers had human events, thoughts and feelings as their focal points, not software, I doubt whether any of the graduates of that week ever used Flesch as a reference for grading their own documentation. How would Bernard Shaw have documented software? Or Mingus played it? This paper addresses these burning issues.
Hallgren, Chris. SIGDOC Proceedings (1986). Articles>Writing>Assessment>Formulas
#23314
An Instructor Internship In Technical Writing
We cause ourselves problems by not knowing what our counterparts in industry are doing. In my case, I taught the textbook in my first business and technical writing courses at Indiana University East, Richmond.
Driggers, Stephen. ADE Bulletin (1986). Articles>Education>Writing>Technical Writing
#13981
An Interpersonal Approach To Writing Negative Messages 
Writing negative messages is one of the most difficult tasks facing business communicators. Because we usually find saying “no” harder than saying 'yes,” and because refusing a request often is interpreted by a reader as personal rejection, most writers know enough to approach the task of writing negative messages with some degree of caution. Recently I spent all of five minutes writing a note to a job applicant, telling her that she had been hired for an opening. I spent almost ten times as long composing the letter sent to the applicants who did not receive the job offer.
Salerno, Douglas. JAC (1986). Articles>Rhetoric>Writing
#13982
Untangling the Law: Verbal Design in Legal Argument 
“The law is a seamless web,” law professors are fond of reminding their students. The lightest touch on any strand will send vibrations through the entire intricate structure. Every legal issue, rule, and theory is integrally connected; thus attention to any part affects the whole. Ironically, the metaphor’s appropriateness extends beyond this initial image since the slightest vibrations running through even the most beautiful web will alert the waiting spider—the beauty disguises a deadly trap.
Woolever, Kristin R. JAC (1986). Articles>Rhetoric>Legal