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Journal of Business and Technical Communication
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The First Weeklong Technical Writers’ Institute and Its Impact

Merrill D. Whitburn

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Rensselaer’s Technical Writers’ Institute, the first program of its kind, had a profound impact on technical communication. It enabled technical communicators without formal education in the field to gain important knowledge, provided a forum for communicators from different industries to meet in order to solve mutual problems, played a key role in defining the field and its needs, encouraged recruitment (including the hiring of more women), promoted professional societies and formal degree programs, and seriously affected industry training programs by enabling them to use institute teaching materials. Knowledge gained through the Technical Writers’ Institute enabled Rensselaer to develop many other innovations.

Key Words: Technical Writers’ Institute • Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute • technical writing • technical communication • history of technical communication

This version was published on October 1, 2009

Journal of Business and Technical Communication, Vol. 23, No. 4, 428-447 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/1050651909338801
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