a can of worms?

["ASUE Tekwrytr" <tekwrytr -at- hotmail -dot- com>]

One point that seems to be overlooked is the answer to the question, "Is 
technical writing an academic discipline?" That it is profitable to the 
colleges and universities is a given; it attracts students (or at least it 
did until the job market for TWs softened), can easily be cross-wired with 
existing faculty from whatever department, and marketed as The Answer to a 
career-changers dream. The real question is, "How many of the 
graduates--whether from an English, Engineering, Technical Communication or 
other major--are actually employable as technical writers?"

The assumption that the English department teaches "writing" may be a bit 
off; a whole lot of undergraduates are buzzing through English majors with 
writing "competencies" that are laughable. The instructors don't have the 
time to teach basic grammar and syntax (or are unwilling to take it), and 
shove students through with minimal writing skills. By the time an English 
major reaches upper division classes, his or her "background" may consist 
primarily of writing fiction and producing convoluted "analyses" of literary 
pieces. In the real world, English with a linguistics focus might be useful 
for a TW; a lit or generic English major is about as close to Underwater 
Basketweaving as one can get in a major university.

The assumption that an Engineering department is more competent to teach TW 
is just as errroneous. The basic tendency in a specialty is to lay in to the 
ingroup/outgroup dichotomy; "we" write for "them." The basic mindset of many 
engineers is that the written material produced should be for the 
edification of other engineers, not of the non-specialist. Just as many TWs 
use the "we write for non-specialists" as an excuse for technical 
imcompetence, so do many engineers view anyone without at least three 
semesters of calculus as a "poet." It is a simple fact of life that the same 
mindset that creates highly motivated, competent engineers makes those 
engineers somewhat disdainful of anyone lacking an engineering background.

It may well be that the most appropriate "interdisciplinary" approach is a 
department focused on technical communication, rather than technical 
writing. While an English background is interesting, and an Engineering 
background is impressive, the fact is that the crux of technical 
documentation is a transfer of meaning--and that is most appropriately the 
province of Communication.

The minset of many entering the field that TW is simply "dumbing down" an 
instruction set to enable non-specialists to operate a widget is painfully 
inadequate. While it perpetuates the myth that TW can be taught by English 
department faculty (otherwise totally unqualified for the job), it avoids 
the issue of technical expertise being necessary to understand how the 
widget functions in order to explain it. For example, the wing structure of 
a Boeing 767; defining it as a "big thing that wind blows across to make the 
plane stay up in the air" might be appropriate for a second grade text, but 
is not especially useful to aeronautical engineers working on the design.

The real value of TW instruction in colleges and universities is teaching 
communication; if a student lacks the writing or technical skill coming in 
the door, he or she will still lack those skills when exiting. It is the 
responsibility of the student, as well as the prospective TW, to acquire the 
technical and writing skills relevant to the specific field of interest 
outside the technical communication programs. If a job in software 
documentation is being pursued, learn programming. If a job in the 
biotechnology field is the goal, take undergraduate classes in biology, 
microbiology, chemistry, or whatever else is appropriate.

TW programs should teach a conceptual framework that enables a graduate to 
enter any field of specialization and do an adequate job of documenting it. 
To expect a TW program to produce "ready-for-the-job-market" graduates is 
naive; it is up to the student to choose the area of technical expertise 
needed and vigorously pursue acquisition of competencies in that area, to 
augment the conceptual skills acquired in a technical communication program.
Thanks

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