I'm interested to hear opinions and anecdotes, but most useful would be recent research that gathers information from job incumbents and/or their managers. Thank you!
I don't know about universities per se, but in general there is a tendency for specialists (particularly IT specialists) to be blinkered by their close knowledge of their subject and unable to see the need their readers might have for really basic information. I would say that every technical writer should have a genuine novice/user read their material, to take careful note of the questions they need to ask, and then to revise their work to factor in the answers to those questions. (Then maybe do a second check.) I say this on behalf of us dummies who need 'non-specialist' explanations!
I think so,
In Egypt and my own University (Al-Azhar University, school of Medicine) do a good job in this particular area
A couple of weeks ago, an engineer mentioned that he spends much more time writing than he ever expected. In research, one must write about what they discovered, invented, or accomplished, or the work benefits few.
In response to Hilary McColl, many editors would probably qualify as non-experts in technical fields. An editor would need to know that the author wants them to evaluate the clarity of the content rather than just copyedit.
I confidently say yes, for Makerere University Business school with in the subject of Organisation Behaviour and Organisation development.
The heuristic model by prof. J.C Munene kills it from all angles of professional writing.
All I can certainly say is that I would love to read an article about this issue.
Some universities may do a good job. For example, Massey University College supports it's students by offering courses such as Advanced Communication, which help learners to improve their writing capabilities.
No, universities are not doing a good job, it depends on the professor who is conducting the course. Majority prefer structured, theroritical learning than giving practical insight.
Hello Dr John M. Ford
I agree with Rida Sameen that there is a lot of variation depending on which professor or lecturer or instructors to which you are allocated. Overall, there is limited preparation and there are many skills in this area that we have to learn ourselves. This site gives good tips and starting points:
https://www.gooduniversitiesguide.com.au/careers-guide/technical-writer
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