This collection of essays addresses the challenges of technical communication and provides detailed information for instructors and researchers who wish to further their knowledge of particular areas within technical communication. The essays in this collection also address the problems of a large, complex, and growing academic endeavor. The essays and their authors are: (1) "Technical Communication and Rhetoric" (Roger E. Masse and Martha Delamater Benz); (2) "Reading and Technical Writing" (Nina D. Ziv); (3) "Ethics and Technical Communication" (Stephen Doheny-Farina); (4) "Technical Editing" (Avon Jack Murphy); (5) "Trends in Visual Representation" (Ben F. Barton and Marthalee S. Barton); (6) "Interpersonal Communication for the Technical Communicator" (David M. Craig and Thomas M. Steinfatt); (7) "Communication Consulting" (Raymond N. MacKenzie); (8) "Style and Technical Writing" (James C. Addison, Jr.); (9) "Professional Presentations" (James R. Weber); (10) "Annual Reports, Brochures, and Newsletters" (John W. Ferstel); (11) "Instructions, Procedures, and Style Manuals" (Sherry G. Southard); (12) "Proposals: The Process and the Document" (Alice E. Moorhead); (13) "Technical Advertising and Sales" (Mary M. Lay); (14) "Letters and Memorandums" (Nancy Fitzgerald Brown); (15) "Reports, Papers, and News Releases" (Brenda Johns); (16) "Computer Documentation" (Charles H. Sides); and (17) "Medical Science and Technology" (Barbara Gastel). (MS)