Genre, rhetorical interpretation, and the open case: teaching the analytical report

Analytical reports, being one of the most difficult genres to teach in a technical writing course, are best taught through the "open case" method. Open cases take advantage of the fact that students are already situated in a workplace environment, the college campus. Engineering students can use the genre to impose order on this chaotic environment, conducting various forms of research on engineering-related campus issues. A process for developing open case assignments is provided.