Journal of Technical Writing and Communication

Recent advances in graphing software and output devices have given new tools to graphic artists and have enabled writers and technicians to compose graphs that rival those of professional artists. The products of both professionals and novices suggest, however, that the users of such software either intend to distort data and manipulate their readers or that they do so out of ignorance. This article describes and illustrates seven types of distortion in graphs, explains the mechanisms of distortion, and recommends methods for the avoidance of distortion. The seven types include manipulations of scale ratios, of the second dimension, of the third dimension, of color, of composition, of symbolism, and of affect.

This article reports the results of survey research designed to determine how students feel about peer assistance and group writing. In general, the results are quite favorable, although more problems surface regarding fully collaborative projects than peer criticism. Statistical analysis of both objective and open-ended items yields suggestions for design and management of collaborative projects in technical communication classes.

One of the primary objectives of studying theory and practice relating to technical reports is to define what constitutes report writing as genre and to place this genre within a social context. Report writing always involves the investigation of an ill-defined problem and occurs within the auspices of an organizational context. This investigative and reporting function implies a high degree of ethical and social responsibility on the investigator to interpret and report the significance of the facts, making the conclusions explicit, and forming the basis for additional interpretations. Drawing on Susan Wells' conventions for commissioned reports, this article analyzes how the Tailhook Report, which was commissioned to investigate the charges of sexual misconduct by naval aviators at the Tailhook Symposium, omits answering two of the three questions Wells establishes as necessary by precedence in the genre in order to avoid making conclusions that might necessitate actions that would alter the male-dominated power structure of the U.S. Navy.