Technical and Professional Writing Commons^™

Open Technical Writing: An Open-Access Text For Instruction In Technical And Professional Writing, Adam Rex Pope

Open Educational Resources

This book presents technical writing as an approach to researching and carrying out writing that centers on technical subject matter. Each and every chapter is devoted to helping students understand that good technical writing is situationally-aware and context-driven. Technical writing doesn’t work off knowing the one true right way of doing things—there is no magic report template out there that will always work. Instead, the focus is on offering students a series of approaches they can use to map out their situations and do research accordingly.

“You Are Sexist!” “No, I’M A Sports Reporter.” An Analysis Of Females’ And Males’ Portrayal In Print Media, Lauryn Beam

Student Scholar Showcase

Media itself has always been an outlet for the public. It has been used for entertainment, information, and a societal tool from the time when it was first advancing. Sport media is a genre all its own. There has always been a gender divide in sport and sport media. For this critical study, print media sources from different outlets were analyzed to compare two female athletes against two male athletes. The athletes being compared were Serena Williams and John McEnroe, as well as Brandi Chastain and Nicolas Anelka. Each article was analyzed for how the journalist portrayed the athlete, in ...

Modern Chinese Essays: Zhou Zuoren, Lin Yutang And Others, Tonglu Li

Tonglu Li (李同路)

Modern essay, or creative nonfiction prose, whose success almost surpasses that of poetry, theater and fiction,1 was born out of the marriage of traditional Chinese and Western culture.2 On a superficial level, it distinguishes itself from traditional essay by using vernacular instead of classical or literary Chinese, and thus is more accessible to the masses. In terms of genre, it is narrower in scope than traditional essay which includes all non-verse writings, literary or not. More importantly, as Yu Dafu points out, modern essay values the expression of individuality and personality more than any other writings.3 By ...

New Humanism, Tonglu Li

Tonglu Li (李同路)

Originally proposed by Irving Babbitt and Elmer More, and inspired by Buddhist and Confucian philosophies, New Humanism opposed the moral decline fostered by relativist and determinist beliefs and by an increasingly materialistic American society during the early twentieth century. Brought back to China and transformed by Chinese scholars who had studied with Babbitt, New Humanism became a counternarrative to the May Fourth Movement, to Marxism, and to radicalism in general. This essay delineates the roles New Humanism played in China, its internal contradictions, and its intricate relationship with hegemonic discourses by examining the literary practices of three New Humanists who ...

Workplace Democracy And The Problem Of Equality, Jared S. Colton, Avery C. Edenfield, Steve Holmes

Avery C. Edenfield

Purpose: Professional communicators are becoming more invested in unique configurations of power in organizations, including non-hierarchical and democratic workplaces. While organizations dedicated to democratic processes may enact power differently than conventional organizations, they may fall short of practicing equality. This article explains the differences in non-hierarchical workplaces, considers businesses where democracy is a goal, and argues for considering equality as a habitual practice, particularly when writing regulatory documents.

Method: We conduct a review of the literature on non-hierarchical workplaces and organizational democracy, applying Jacques Rancière’s concept of equality to two examples (one using primary data collection and one using ...

Workplace Democracy And The Problem Of Equality, Jared S. Colton, Avery C. Edenfield, Steve Holmes

Jared Colton

Purpose: Professional communicators are becoming more invested in unique configurations of power in organizations, including non-hierarchical and democratic workplaces. While organizations dedicated to democratic processes may enact power differently than conventional organizations, they may fall short of practicing equality. This article explains the differences in non-hierarchical workplaces, considers businesses where democracy is a goal, and argues for considering equality as a habitual practice, particularly when writing regulatory documents.

Method: We conduct a review of the literature on non-hierarchical workplaces and organizational democracy, applying Jacques Rancière’s concept of equality to two examples (one using primary data collection and one using ...

A Word From The Writing Team (March 2019), Jennifer Wilson, Ms, Els, Pam Walter, Mfa

A Word From the Writing Team (Newsletter)

This issue includes:

• Key to Great Writing: Rewriting
• 3-Minute Thesis Competition (3MT)
• Upcoming Workshops

Teaching-Oriented Research, John M. Levis

English Publications

This paper examines some of the factors that make for a good teaching-oriented paper, in which research and practice are most clearly connected. Such papers have clear research questions, explicit and systematic approaches to teaching and learning for experimental and control groups, improvement measured by pre and posttests, and well-developed teaching implications. Various papers from different journals are used to illustrate the characteristics of successful teaching-oriented papers.

La Superposición De Mapas Cognitivos En La ‘Historia Del Cautivo:’ El Espacio Discursivo En La Convivencia De Culturas, Julia Domínguez

Julia Domínguez

En mi estudio analizare la representacion del espacio en el discurso de Ruy Perez de Viedma, el cautivo que en la primera parte de El Quijote acompanado de Zoraida llega a la venta de Juan palomeque y relata a peticion de los presentes los momentos mas importantes de su vida como soldado durante los ultimos veinte anos, especialmente su cautiverio en Argel. Desde las montanas de Leon, dejando atras a su padre y hermanos, el cautivo recorre un largo camino pasando por Alicante, Genova, Milan, Flandes, Napoles y otros puntos importantes del Mediterraneo y la costa norte de Africa. En ...

Game Of Floods: Water Is Coming, Lily Daniels, Andrew Lindgren, Michael Neczyporuk, Madison Perry

Undergraduate Research Symposium

Through user experience testing and observation of player interactions, we examined the potential for a game to serve as a vehicle for risk communication and knowledge transmission. Our subject of study, Game of Floods, is a role-playing tabletop simulation game with the goal of educating participants on the threats climate change poses to coastal cities, with a specific focus on the drastic implications of sea level rise and increased rainfall. This game was originally designed by city planners in Marin County, California as a tool for public outreach regarding sea level rise adaptations (including, but not limited to seawalls, levees ...

Workplace Democracy And The Problem Of Equality, Jared S. Colton, Avery C. Edenfield, Steve Holmes

English Faculty Publications

Purpose: Professional communicators are becoming more invested in unique configurations of power in organizations, including non-hierarchical and democratic workplaces. While organizations dedicated to democratic processes may enact power differently than conventional organizations, they may fall short of practicing equality. This article explains the differences in non-hierarchical workplaces, considers businesses where democracy is a goal, and argues for considering equality as a habitual practice, particularly when writing regulatory documents.

Method: We conduct a review of the literature on non-hierarchical workplaces and organizational democracy, applying Jacques Rancière’s concept of equality to two examples (one using primary data collection and one using ...

Integrating Language, Content, Technology, And Skills Development Through Project-Based Language Learning: Blending Frameworks For Successful Unit Planning, Tammy Slater, Gulbahar H. Beckett

English Publications

In this article, the authors first summarize the literature on project-based language learning (PBLL), a sound approach to second language teaching, addressing its various benefits such as providing opportunities to develop language authentically in real-world contexts, building decision-making and problem-solving skills, and developing content knowledge. In acknowledging reports that have also suggested that students can struggle to see how language is being developed through PBLL, the authors then argue that by looking at a project as a social practice, educators can demonstrate how language, content, and 21st century skills can be taught as an integrated whole through PBLL. They describe ...

Lessons In Productivity: What I Learned By Writing For 30 Minutes A Day, Mary Stenson

Forum Lectures

Too often our scholarly and creative work takes a back seat to components of our jobs with built in accountability like teaching and service. During the fall 2018 semester, I participated in the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity's Faculty Success Program. The program emphasizes scholarly productivity and encourages work-life balance. The core component of the program is developing a daily writing practice. The program encourages participants to write for 30 minutes per day. NCFDD founder, Kerry Ann Rockquemore defines writing as "anything between the spark of an idea and a manuscript out the door." In this forum ...

Review: Released Letters. Captivity, Writing And Subjectivity In The Mediterranean Of The Spanish Imperial Era By Ana Rodríguez-Rodríguez, Julia Domínguez

Julia Domínguez

Letras liberadas is a complementary work, easy to read, for all those interested in the Spanish-Muslim confrontation in the western Mediterranean since the late sixteenth century and throughout the seventeenth century. The book is of special interest for text scholars who recreate the experiences of Spanish men and women, direct victims of that conflict, who were turned into captives and transferred to Muslim territory, specifically to Algiers and Constantinople. The author makes clear from the beginning that she does not intend to reconstruct with her analysis the history of Spanish captivity, but to analyze the textual representation product of that ...

Cervantes In Perspective, Julia Domínguez

Julia Domínguez

Cervantes in Perspective brings together original essays on Miguel de Cervantes´s life and literature written by nine significant Cervantes scholars. Readers and scholars of Early Modern Spanish literature will find a discussion of current theories of fiction, the latest analyses of individual texts, new comparative approaches to Cervantes, and unique studies on the impact of Cervantine fiction on both early modern Spain and contemporary U.S. culture. Cervantes in Perspective also marks the first time that recent scholarly approaches emerging from the annual Chicago Cervantes Symposium have been published

A Word From The Writing Team (January 2019), Jennifer Wilson, Ms, Els, Pam Walter, Mfa

A Word From the Writing Team (Newsletter)

This issue includes:

• Grammarly Tips
• Expanded NVivo Access
• Upcoming Workshops

The Attention Crisis Of Digital Interfaces And How To Consume Media More Mindfully, Kristen M. Liu

Scripps Senior Theses

Digital forms of media are monopolizing individuals' attention spans, utilizing visual strategies that demand our interactions. Throughout the history of media technology, mediums have become increasingly immersive, presenting more information than ever before. The user interface designs of digital platforms can damage our ability to focus and distribute attention in meaningful ways. Through analysis of our digital media consumption, this capstone project ultimately proposes mindful practices that help us lead more balanced lives and thrive in the digital age. The second half of this capstone project is a digital zine with digital illustrations, animations, and editorial-style articles. The digital zine ...

The Evolution Of Sunset Magazine's Cooking Department: The Accommodation Of Men's And Women's Cooking In The 1930s, Jennifer Hoolhorst Pagano

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The Western regional magazine Sunset has been published under a series of owners and publishers since 1898. In 1928, Sunset was purchased by Lawrence Lane, a Midwestern magazine executive who transformed it from a failing turn-of-the-century, general interest publication about the West, into a successful magazine about living in the West for the Western middle-class. Sunset had always been a magazine for men and women, and one that appealed to both male and female intellectuals at the time Lane purchased it. Lane and his editors attempted to interject more rigid middle-class ideals into a magazine that had espoused ideas that ...

Teaching Information Literacy And Writing Studies: Volume 2, Upper-Level And Graduate Courses, Grace Veach

Purdue University Press Book Previews

This volume, edited by Grace Veach, explores leading approaches to teaching information literacy and writing studies in upper-level and graduate courses. Contributors describe cross-disciplinary and collaborative efforts underway across higher education, during a time when "fact" or "truth" is less important than fitting a predetermined message. Topics include: working with varied student populations, teaching information literacy and writing in upper-level general education and disciplinary courses, specialized approaches for graduate courses, and preparing graduate assistants to teach information literacy.

Beasts Of The Southern Wild And Indigenous Communities In The Age Of The Sixth Extinction, Brianna R. Burke

English Publications

Island Road in Louisiana seems to lead to nowhere. An hour and forty minutes southwest of New Orleans, deep in the bayou, Island Road was built on marshlands in 1953, but in the sixty years since, those have melted into the sea. Now hemmed in by water on both sides, for portions of the year Island Road is flooded and impassable, and it dead- ends into the Gulf of Mexico; not much to see and no reason to go out there, or so some folks might think. In fact, many think it is “irresponsible” to live in such a place ...