ABSTRACT
The term technical communication covers a large purview, indicating very different things in different contexts. It is the title of a profession, in which writers make technical information available and understandable to nonspecialist audiences. But, it also refers to the kinds of writing that technical professionals, such as engineers and computer scientists, do as part of their jobs. The term itself is built on the older title of technical writing, the change acknowledges the fact that visual design became a crucial foundation for designing and publishing print texts, along with the fact that oral and graphic skills were seen as valuable for all workplace writers. More recently, for a range of reasons, the term professional communication has been used as an alternative to technical communication. In some cases, professional communication is used because it better fits the wide range of academic programs that require a technical writing service course for their students. Management students, public relations students, or education students may see themselves as professionals, but not as technical Yet, these students frequently appear in required technical communication courses. In this context, the term has some limitations, because it is in fact not clear that an undergraduate getting a degree in biology, chemistry, or English is in a profession, as opposed to a field. The term professional applies rather loosely in such instances.
