Response to Traci Johnson's Rhetoric Post

It seems Traci and I were on the same page, we both used the same political add as a basis for some or all of our rhetoric post. I must admit however that Traci did a much better job of describing the forms of rhetoric and citing examples from the ad. Good job, Traci!

Technical Communication Review, Chapters 6 & 7

This week's chapter readings remind me of the oft-used phrase "Timing is everything". I must admit that I wondered about the assigned chapter sequence, but the topics this week were precisely on target for our projects - the ABC's of research.

Chapter 6

Chapter 6 reminded us about the correct research focus, the reader.

• How or why the reader use the research.
• What format would benefit them the most?

It went on to discuss numerous guidelines for reader-centered research, including:

1. Research objectives - what are you looking for?
2. Develop a research plan to get the most from your research
3. Always be alert to additional research sources
4. Make sure your research data is relevant, accurate, appropriate & credible
5. Evaluate results as they occur - this will help maintain the research focus
6. Document carefully, including taking accurate notes. Results mean nothing if you cannot accurately reproduce or interpret them
7. Always follow ethical guidelines - give credit where credit is due, and seek permission where appropriate

Chapter 7

Chapter 7 goes into some of the nuts and bolts of research methodologies:

1. Brainstorming - a rapid disgorge of as many ideas related to a topic as one can produce. This can be as an individual or group. NOTE: Write down the ideas - producing them does no good if you cannot reproduce them!
2. Freewriting - the same as brainstorming except that you write down complete ideas
3. Schematics - use flowcharts, diagrams, matrices, or other pictorial displays to organize the research ideas, topics, or processes
4. Internet search engines and directories Caution: know your source - not all internet sources are created equal! You can narrow your search parameters with advanced search features utilizing Boolean operators
5. Libraries - both brick & mortar and on-line
6. Interviews

The bottom line is, which research methodologies will best suit your topic and generate the most usable and relevant information for your readers

Rhetoric - What it means to me

Rhetoric is a vital and valuable tool, albeit some consider it a necessary evil. Rhetoric is the use of words to convince, cajole or otherwise influence an intended audience to adopt a point of view or perform some action. Rhetoric can elicit emotions (pathos), appeal to logic (logos), relate first-person experiences or qualities (Ethos), or use any combination of these three rhetoric styles.

To be effective, rhetoric must convey a particular message clearly, succinctly, and completely, without additional “clutter”. Of particular current interest are political ads. These ads rely significantly on emotion (Pathos) to convince voters of either the goodness of one party (or candidate) or to cast the opponent in a negative light. One ad currently portrays a candidate as opposing more stringent sentences on a particular class of criminals, thereby instigating fear in the target audience. What the ads don’t do is support their message with too many facts – that would diminish the emotional message and thereby reduce the effectiveness of the ad.

Without rhetoric, commerce would grind to a halt and mankind would essentially be thrown back to the stone ages. Without the ability to convey ideas, there can be no developing a consensus, and without a consensus, groups cannot act in concert. Commerce and society rely on likeminded people banding together and cooperating. While non-verbal interpersonal communication can function on a small scale, it cannot support the infrastructure of today’s modern society.

Therefore, while we may not always like the ways rhetoric is used, it is vital to our survival.

Technical Communication, Chapters 4, 5, 16 and 23

Chapters 4 and 5 appeared to be extensions of Chapter 3, with some the practical advantages of knowing your audience. Chapter 4 gives valuable insight into how knowing your audience assists in planning your communication so it has the greatest utility for your specific audience. Chapter 5 gives various strategies for maximizing the effectiveness of your communication for given audiences.

Chapter 16 begins the discussions into group dynamics for writing projects, listing three basic group structures:

1. Tiered - a single person is designated as a leader (or manager) who can assign tasks and make decisions
2. Flat - every team member is equal and can actively participate in decisions and tasks
3. Hybrid - Where a nominal leader actively engages group members, sometimes acting as a facilitator

The major discussion points centered around how to make the group dynamics as effective as possible enlisting numerous tools, such as storyboards, outlines, timelines, etc.

Chapter 23 dealt with writing effective instructions. Here again, knowing the audience played a central role in how to write the instructions. Considerations included the expected expertise, geographic and cultural variances, and how the audience is expected to use the instructions. The chapter addressed these issues woven in a discussion of the “superstructure” (organizational format), detailing methodologies and options in the:

· Introduction
· Description of Equipment
· List of Materials Needed
· Directions
· Troubleshooting

Response to Robert Clemans Post on Ch. 3

Bravo! Something a little different, yet still on point.

The majority of blogs on Chapter 3 seemed to parrot the chapter, regurgitating what we have all already read. Some were so long, I couldn’t finish them! Not Robert! He encapsulated the importance of the information in a real life scenario, capturing the essence of why we should know the who, what & why's of our writing. Great job!!

Technical Communications - Chapter 3

As in every successful endeavor, you must KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE!. This has been true for virtually every profession from snake-oil salesmen, con artists, stand-up comedians, and even to titans of industry. Imagine a stand-up comic presenting their R-rated material at a birthday party for a 7-year old child, or a whaling firm executive discussing the merits of different processing techniques to a Greenpeace convention. I suspect those could be uncomfortable moments.

The writing profession is no different - you must know to whom you are writing, why you are writing to them, why they are reading what you are writing, and how you want them to receive your communication. Chapter 3 in the textbook covers this requirement in exhaustive detail with numerous examples and detailed rationale.

Writing - UGH!!

Writing in all of its various forms can be such a chore! However, it does have its points. If done well with thought, planning, and research, it can have many beneficial effects:

1. Alleviating additional or excess work and/or effort
2. Facilitating commerce
3. Persuading individuals, groups, or organizations
4. Influencing opinions, both public and private
5. Educating and instructing

If done rashly, poorly, without forethought or sufficient research, writing can have exactly the opposite impact by:

1. Creating unnecessary work
2. Disrupting effective commerce
3. Dissuading individuals, groups, or organizations from adopting your point of view
4. Negatively influencing opinions
5. Confuse and disenfranchise the readers

While I may not enjoy writing, I recognize its value and look forward to the impact this class (English 402) will have in improving my future professional correspondence.

Technical Communication Chapters 1, 20 and 22

Having read the assigned chapters in the textbook, I am struck by a couple of paradoxical observations.


First, in Ch. 1, the author stresses the difference between writing for educational purposes and business writing. They have almost diametrically opposed purposes, with educational writing tending to be highly verbose with expansive discourses on sometimes obscure topics. Business writing, on the other hand, tends to be concise and to the point. The result was an educational format discourse describing why we will learn to write in just the opposite manner. The juxtaposition struck me as odd and a little amusing.


Secondly, the author stressed the need for clarity in technical and/or professional writing, while at the same time presenting the reader with somewhat confusing examples. Take the three examples of business letters shown on page 531 in the textbook. The three examples represent the first and subsequent pages as well as the envelope. It would have been far less confusing for the three examples to have been from the same letter, instead of three different letters. I also noted on page 533 that the last bullet points dealing with special memo-writing considerations dealt with a comparison between writing memos and letters. There was no clear delineation between when discussing letters and when discussing memos. If I were to read that point out of context, it would have been very confusing.


The criticisms aside, the information in the textbook appeared to take a no nonsense common sense approach to professional communications, despite its unintended amusing dichotomies.