Suggests linking technical writing assignments to library research in students' fields to build on students' immediate concerns and to reinforce the practical nature of technical writing. Includes two such assignments: the comparative analysis and the user's guide for a specific reference work. (HTH)

Discusses how to teach a first-year composition course, expository writing, required of most students at Rensselaer Polytechnic. Considers how to motivate students and help them to see connections between writing and their technical work. Offers various techniques for getting the students to write comfortably. (PA)

Engineering students can use a humanistic research project on the poetry of Walt Whitman as the basis for a technical report. Students must first become familiar with the scientific method so that they will have a general procedure for gathering and analyzing data for the project. To use the scientific method, students isolate the problem, observe…

The process-oriented advanced technical writing course described in this paper leads students progressively through the writing and editing processes while involving them in the technical writing of their respective disciplines. The readings, exercises, and report assignments used in the course are discussed to show how these activities awaken…

Art and writing are valuable tools for helping students develop sensitivity to the world around them and for encouraging them to respond to their feelings. Activities combining art and writing include writing a detailed description of an object; writing about a personally created collage; journal-keeping; self-appraisals; and writing step-by-step…