DOCUMENT RESUME ED 308 538 CS 211 960 AUTHOR Sides, Charles H., Ed. TITLE Technical and Business Communication: Bibliographic Essays for Teachers and Corporate Trainers. INSTITUTION National Council of Teachers of English, Urbana, Ill.; Society for Technical Communication, Washington, D.C. REPORT NO ISBN-0-8141-5303-8 PUB DATE 89 NOTE 357p. AVAILABLE FROMNational Council of Teachers of English, 1111 Kenyon Rd., Urbana, IL 61801 (Stock No. 53038-3020; $20.00 member, $25.00 nonmember). PBS TYPE Books (010) -- Guides - Non-Classroom Use fs055) -- Viewpoints (120) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC15 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Annual Reports; *Business Communication; Ethics; Higher Education; Interpersonal Communication; Letters (Correspondence); Medicine; Newsletters; Reading; Rhetoric; *Technical Writing; Technology IDENTIFIERS *Technical Communication; Visual Representation ABSTRACT This collection of esays addresses the challenges of technical communication and provides detailed information for instructors and researchers who wish to further their knowledge of particular areas within technical communication. The essays in this collection also address the problems of a large, complex, and growing academic endeavor. The essays and their authors are: (1) "Technical Communication and Rhetoric" (Roger E. Masse and Martha Delamater Benz); (2) "Reading and Technical Writing" (Nina D. Ziv); (3) "Ethics ard Technical Communication" (Stephen Doheny-Farina); (4) "Technical EditlIg" (Avon Jack Murphy); (5) "Trends in Visual Representation" (Ben F. Barton and Marthalee S. Barton); (6) "Interpersonal Communication for the Technical Communicator" (David M. Craig and Thomas M. Steinfatt); (7) "Communication Consulting" (Raymond N. MacKenzie); (8) "Style and Technical Writing" (James C. Addison, Jr.);(9) "Professional Presentations" (James R. Weber); (10) "Annual Reports, Brochures, and Newsletters" (John W. Ferstel); (11) "Instructions, Procedures, and Style Manuals" (Sherry G. Southard); (12) "Proposals: The Process and the Document" (Alice E. Moorhead); (13) "Technical Advertising and Sales" (Mary M. Lay); (14) "Letters and Memorandums" (Nancy Fitzgerald Brown); (15) "Reports, Papers, and News Releases" (Brenda Johns); (16) "Computer Documentation" (Charles H. Sides); and (17) "Medical Science and Technology" (Barbara Gastel). (MS) **********************Itk***********************t*********************** * Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * from the original document. * ********************************************************************* , tlit *ineet mminicatioti fri hographIc Essays 4 ( r orporaterain, by Charles fl. ° PERMISSION TO REPRODUCETHIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTEDBY Maxwel NCTE TO THE EDUCATIONALRESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER IERIC)." Technical and Business Communication r Technical and Business Communication Bibliographic Essays for Teachers and Corporate Trainers Edited by Charles H. Sides Northeastern University Copublished by National Council of Teachers of Eng::sh 1111 Kenyon Road, Urbana, Illinois 61801 Society for Technical Commuaication 815 15th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20005 (202) 737-0035 NM Editorial Board: Donald R. Gallo, Thomas Newkirk, Raymond Ro- drigues, Dorothy Strickland, Brooke Workman, L. Jane Christensen,ex officio, John Lansingh Bennett, ex officio Book Design: Interior, Tom Kovacs for TGK Design, cover, Michael J. Getz Project Editor: Tim Bryant Copyediting: Editorial Experts NCTE Stock Number 53038-3020 © 1989 by the National Council of Teachers of English. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. It is the policy of NCTE in its journals and other publications to provide a forum for the open discussior. ofideas concerning the content and the teaching of English and the language arts. Publicity accorded to any particular point of view does not imply endorsement by the Executise Committee, the Board of Directors, or the membership at large, except in announcements of policy, where such endorsement is clearly specified. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Technical and business communication : bibliographic essays fcr teachers and corporate tra,ners / edited by Charles H. Sides. p. cm. Bibliography: p. ISBN 0-8141-5303-8 (National Council of Teachers of English). ISBN 0-914548-59-X (Society tbr Technical Communication) I. Communication of technical information.2. Business communication.I. Sides, Charles H., 1952- T10.5.T41989 808'.0666dc20 89-34052 CIP ci Contents Acknowledgments vii Introduction 1 I Issues and Abilities in Technical Communication 3 1. Technical Communication and Rhetoric 5 Roger E. Masse and Martha Delamater Benz 2. Reading and Technical Writing 39 Nina D. Ziv 3. Ethics and Technical Communication 53 Stephen Doheny-Farina 4. Technical Editing 75 Avon Jack Murphy 5. Trends in Visual Representation 95 Ben F. Barton and Martha lee S. Barton 6. Interpersonal Communication for the Technical Communicator 137 David M. Craig and Thomas M. Steinfatt 7. Communication Consulting 169 Raymond N. MacKenzie 8. Style and Technical Writing 181 James C. Addison, Jr. 9. Professional Presentations 201 James R. Weber rl U vi Contents H Genres in Technical Communication 221 10. Annual Reports, Brochures, and Newsletters 223 John W. Ferstel 11. Instructions, Procedures, and Style Manuals 241 Sherry G. Southard 12. Proposals: The Process and the Document 265 Alice E. Moorhead a 13. Technical Advertising and Sales 287 Mary M. Lay 14. Letters and Memorandums 303 Nancy (Fitzgerald) Brown 15. Reports, Papers, and News Releases 319 Brenda Johns 16. Computer Documentation 329 Charles H. Sides 17. Medical Science and Technology 341 Barbara Gastel Editor 355 Contributors 357 r t -*I Acknowledgments Several people and organizations are responsible for the success of bringing this book to press. Certainly the first are the contributors who worked on these essays for years, revising and updating as the publication process wound to its slow conclusion. Second are the National Council of Teachers of English and the Society for Technical Communication. Both organizations have provided moral support and the opportunity to have manuscripts read by knowledgeable reviewers who shared numerous helpful suggestions as to how this collection could be improved. Finally is my good friend and consulting colleague Professor David Carson of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He saw the potential value of this collection from the very beginning in the fall of 1981 when I presented it to NCTE's Committee on Technical and Scientific Writing. He also advised me along the way as, to how tp malce the collection succeed, and he fought for the collection's publication. The success of this book is in a large way due to his efforts. vii Introduction One of the hallmarks of a vibrant academic fieldis that it draws information and expertise from a variety of related fields. Technical communication is a perfect example. Fertile from the research from such endeavors as communication theory, reading theory, psycholin- guistics, and human factors theory, technical communication provides challenges and rewards for instructors and researchers. However, the accompanying complexity of a field that draws from numerous related fields can pose problems as well. This collection of essays addresses the challenges of technical com- munication. It provides detailed information for instructors and re- searchers who wish to further their knowledge of particular areas within technical communication. The essays in this collection also address the problems of a large, complex, and growing academic endeavor. Readers will find information to lead them to the solutions of their own particular teaching problems, from how one incorporates human factors research into a discussion about user manual design to reflective listening techniques and other interpersonal communication deices at work in small-group environments to reading models and reading theory as they apply to the design of technical reports. Mark Twain once said that when one has a big idea, one writes a big sentence. This collection is large; it treats a large fieldtechnical communication. No bibliographic collection is eer complete, and this one does not intend to be. Rather, it is an attempt to provide teachers of technical and business communication with source material to improve their craft. Some readers will find omissions of favorites, others will have difficulty relating particular essays to the courses they teach. That is the risk writers of bibliographic essays take. Nonetheless, all readers of this collection should find something worthwhile herein. I I Issues and Abilities in Technical Communication 1 Technical Communication and Rhetoric Roger E. Masse U. S. Sprint Dallas, Texas Martha Delamater Benz NASA White Sands Test Facility Las Cruces, New Mexico Over the past decade anci a half, technical uommunicators, teachers, and researchers have investigated the role of rhetoric in technical communication. A few of these experts in the field of technical communication believe that an emphasis on rhetoric in technical writing will ruin the field. Many others believe that rhetoric addresses major concerns of technical communication, develops a theoretical basis for technical communication, and provides practical approaches for tech- nical communication. Because technical writing is mainly concerned with informing, some writers think that the persuasive element of rhetoric would harm the objective nature of such writing. Many others think that technical communicators