Technical Communication: An overview

By Devon James

Engineers with technical expertise and the ability to communicate became important in American society during the Civil War. This value for technical projects and the skills needed to carry them out opened up new educational opportunities for those interested in pursuing careers in technical fields. As a result of this increased importance, the US Government passed the Morrill Land Grant Act of 1862, which called for 30,000 acres of land in several states to be set aside for the creation of colleges focused on the agricultural and mechanical arts

Prior to 1870, all students of higher education, including engineering students, primarily studied rhetoric and what we understand today as the humanities. With industrialization becoming central to the American economy, institutions of higher education shifted to produce engineers, and as a result, much of the focus on the Humanities diminished and the only writing courses many engineering students received was in First Year Composition. Regardless of the level of engineering material mastered, graduates found it difficult to communicate this information through writing.

“The students are learning a writing that is directly applicable to their future careers. That has a lot of meaning for them and ends up creating strong outcomes.” - Jen Tole

Changes came to engineering colleges at the beginning of the 20th century: English departments instituted upper-level writing courses geared towards writing in the engineering profession. Textbooks for teaching these technical writing styles began to circulate. With the introduction of English departments in engineering colleges came tension: English and engineering departments had differing views about what the focus of writing courses should be. The English departments tended to value teaching literature whereas the engineering faculty felt this was not teaching the engineering students the technical writing skills they needed.

Industry professionals were dissatisfied still with the writing ability of engineering graduates. Changes were made, and the increase in English departments across the country multiplied the need for more English faculty. These faculty members were predominantly interested in literary studies, and the divide between English and engineering deepened.

“I think it was kind of natural that technical and professional writing would fall on the side of rhetoric than on the side of English because it deals with practical, pragmatic writing that’s not literature, not creative writing.” - Amy Reed

Though technical writing began to develop as a discipline, those teaching it grew discontent. Oftentimes, these professors were more interested in teaching literature, were underpaid, and did not have respect or recognition within their departments because they were relegated to teach writing rather than the more coveted literature courses. Though morale was generally low amongst the faculty of “engineering English” courses, the demand for the courses increased as did the number of offerings.

As a result of World War II and the G.I. Bill, new students poured into universities. Also a result of the war was countless mechanical inventions, all requiring manuals and instructions for operation, thus increasing the demand for technical writers.

By the 1950s, technical writing formed into how we know it today. The contention between Engineering and English continued, but by the end of the 1950s, technical writing courses developed further and became required for students.

The end of the 1960s saw a decline in enrollment for engineering programs, and therefore decreased enrollment in technical writing courses provided for engineering students. This meant that professors who were more resistant to technical writing were no longer required to spend time teaching it. Those who remained teaching the courses deepened their understanding of technical writing and were in contact with one another, strengthening the courses as a whole.

“For students who are interested or considering [the technical and professional writing] track, I think it’s a super valuable option for anyone interested in technical or workplace writing, but also for students who are dual majors or have interest or expertise in different fields, even fields like the sciences or business. These courses increase their marketability in the job market. It gives them a kind of niche.” - Jen Tole

Increased enrollment began in the 1970s, and technical writing professors began to receive recognition for their knowledge of the subject matter. The legitimization of these courses brings us to where we all now, with technical and professional writing existing as a legitimate and necessary area of study that has expanded well beyond engineering to include all STEM fields.

Source: “The Rise of Technical Writing Instruction in America” by Robert Connors. https://engl334w.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/connors-tech-writing.pdf