Provides sets of alternative answers to 10 situations technical writing consultants often face. Cites pertinent resources that are available. (RL)

Suggests creating subtle but simple controversial issues and personalities for student assignments to help students consider the problem of audience in technical and business writing. (TJ)

Describes techniques used to help technical writing students eliminate jargon, verbosity, syntactical intricacy, and overuse of the passive voice from their writing. (GW)

Cites examples of technical writing that demonstrate "cobblestone rhetoric" (the listing of hard, concrete ideas, all of which have the same weight and configuration) and outlines approaches for helping technical writers learn to use narrative flow and full interpretation of detail in their writing. (GW)

Examines the implicit, possibly unintentional, meanings embodied in some technical writing assignments. Discusses the conventions of plain technical writing, which underestimate its potential for communication. (HTH)

Points out how the work of Robert Zoellner helps students to achieve professional competence as speakers and writers. Discusses the "talk-write" model, which focuses on speaking and writing as behaviors and uses reinforcement to shape effective writing. (EL)

Stresses benefits of freewriting techniques and writing support groups to improve student writing, shows that the usefulness of writing as exploration is better communication, and points out the advantages of having audience-centered communication and a shared responsibility for a project. (EL)

This issue contains two articles in Spanish and three in English on the following topics: the practical presentation of English for Special Purposes (ESP) materials in science programs at the National University of Trujillo, "notional syllabus" and "discourse analysis" in relation to ESP materials, extra-linguistic principles in explaining…