Annotation for Miller, 1989 | mschuth

November 4, 2012 ? 3:20 pm

Miller, C. R. (1989). What?s practical about technical writing? In B. E. Fearing & W. K. Sparrow (Eds.), Technical writing: Theory and practice. New York: The Modern Language Association of America.

Miller discusses what makes technical writing practical and defines practical in terms of ?an efficiency (or goal-directedness) that relies on rules proved through use? (14). She identifies the problem that technical writing teachers base their instruction on nonacademic practices; however, nonacademic practices are often deemed inadequate by technical writing teachers. Therefore, it is difficult to determine the basis for instruction. Another problem is the teachers? lack of knowledge of industry and the discrepancies between industry and the academic discipline, an issue in multiple disciplines which could be possibly resolved through internships and advisory councils. Miller even cites Tebeaux regarding these discrepancies and Tebeaux?s opinion that there must be some changes in technical writing instruction in order to meet the needs of industry.

It is clear that technical writing is a necessary tool for college graduates, based on the accepted importance of clear communication, including effective writing and speaking. In order to maintain that technical writing is ?practical?, it seems we need to bridge the gap between the academic discipline and the industry and determine what rules have been ?proved through use.? How exactly do we do that and what elements make writing and speaking effective? Friess might suggest a usability study where seasoned industry professionals could read through technical documents and determine which are the clearest and most easily understood and why. Tebeaux might suggest, and Wolfe would probably agree, that technical writing courses should be taught in departments specific to the student?s area of study to alleviate any lack of knowledge of that area on the teacher?s behalf. For example, an engineering student might take a technical writing class in the engineering department as opposed to in the English department.

Despite the vehicle we use, it is imperative that we arrive at a consensus for academic instruction in technical writing and unite what seems to be a divided discipline. Since other disciplines struggle with the same issues, is it merely an ongoing characteristic of higher education? Are the specific issues with technical communication a symptom of a larger problem, possibly a fatal flaw?

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