In the discipline of technical/professional writing and communication, one of the strongest recruiting tools we use is the potential earning power students will have once they obtain a degree and secure a job in the industry. This article is the result of two professors learning that one of their most advanced and dedicated students accepted, in…

The prevailing civil engineering graduates' technical writing and oral presentation-related drawbacks have necessitated the design and implementation of demand-driven courses applying interdisciplinary pedagogy. This study investigates civil engineering academia-industry interdisciplinary contents, methods, and situations needed to design…

The small amount of work on workplace writing assessment has focused almost entirely on student readiness for professional writing or included case studies of employer expectations for new writers. While these studies provide insight into current pedagogies for technical writing and writing instruction in general, the main conclusion to be drawn…

This paper calls for a reexamination of the kind of transferable business communication skills that new graduates require as they enter the workforce. Market needs are studied as the focal point for developing relevant exercises to train towards workplace communication competence. The arguments presented in this study are based on an investigation…

This article analyzes literature on university-workplace partnerships and professional writing pedagogy to suggest best practices for workplace mentors to mentor new employees and their writing. The article suggests that new employees often experience cultural confusion due to (a) the transfer of education-based writing strategies and (b) the…

To succeed as tomorrow's workers in the knowledge society of the new century--a world characterized by ceaseless change, boundless knowledge and endless doubt, today's business writing students must develop the skills and traits needed to become creative problem-solvers, flexible team-players and risk-taking life-time learners (Bereiter, 2002a).…

Suggests the widespread use of distance learning to meet the growing needs of nontraditional learners. Discusses availability of equipment, availability of courses, reasons to explore distance learning, sources of resistance, resources, planning effective distance learning, and advantages to business and education. (SR)

Uses information from the 1994 Education and Research Professional Interest Committee Focus Group of the Society for Technical Communication (STC) and from questionnaires to outline educational goals and to suggest ways in which STC members and the Society can prepare undergraduate students for careers in technical communication in the next…

Argues that looking at what decisions technical communicators make, what the scope is of those decisions, and what their implications are, provides a new and critical dimension to technical communication education. Looks at decisions related to technology, to culture, and to public policy. (SR)

Describes a course in which technical writing students write letters to themselves stating goals they want to accomplish within the next 10 years, which the teacher promises not to read and to mail to them in exactly 10 years. Discusses purposes and actual results of assignment. (EL)

Describes five consulting activities developed over several years association with a business firm in order to show that intensive work for one company can be an interesting option for consultants who want to address a firm's many communication problems and who want to see long-term results. (FL)

Draws on both workplace and academic sources to offer a flexible technical communication education model (TC model). Describes 10 attributes that meet industry's changing needs, and describes a recent National Science Foundation technical communication summer program that used the TC model. (SR)

Outlines a broad-based rationale for the role of rhetorical study as a means of linking the student technical communicator's understanding of both knowledge and practice, making the technical communicator a valuable contributor to and member of the workplace. (SR)

Points out problems with using the case approach in the classroom to duplicate real business situations. Discusses the advantages of using student experiences that are analogous to those instructors attempt to reproduce in the classroom. (EL)

Describes the practice of corporate speechwriting, notes the increase in demand for speechwriters by businesses, and discusses the qualifications for such jobs. (FL)