IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication Mar 2022

Unjust Revisions: A Social Justice Framework for Technical Editing

Sam Clem Utah State University ; Ryan Cheek Utah State University

Abstract

Background: There is a lack of conceptual framework for how to develop more inclusive practices in the subfield of technical editing. Literature review: Some researchers have posited theories, like feminism and rhetorical theory, as ways to conceptualize technical editing. This piece extends that literature into social justice using Walton, Moore, and Jones's 3Ps heuristic of positionality, privilege, and power. Research questions: 1. What ideologies are circulating in technical editing pedagogy? 2. How might technical editing pedagogy become more inclusive? Methodology: We conduct a rhetorical analysis of the major academic works in technical editing, including books, textbooks, and academic articles, and compare them to an established framework for social justice in technical and professional communication—the 3Ps heuristic. Results: We find that there are strong instrumentalist underpinnings to much of the current literature in technical editing, making the goal of technical editing linguistic conformity to American Standard English (ASE) at the expense of linguistic diversity. We offer a conceptual framework, the inclusive editing paradigm (IEP), to challenge that linguistic hegemony in technical editing and provide technical editors with theoretical and practical foundations for developing a more inclusive editing practice. Conclusions: More work needs to be done to shift technical editing in a more inclusive direction. We call on practitioners, academics, and users to contribute to this dialogue.

Journal
IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
Published
2022-03-01
DOI
10.1109/tpc.2021.3137666
CompPile
Open Access
Closed
Topics
modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism writing pedagogy professional writing translingualism race and writing gender and writing
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Citation Context

Cited by in this index (9)

  1. Nadra et al. (2026)
    Is genAI a good editor of academic writing?
    Computers and Composition
  2. Mallette et al. (2026)
    Preparing to Edit Ethically with and for AI Contexts
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  3. Smith et al. (2025)
    Introducing TrackEDT: A Tool to Accelerate Empirical Editing Research
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  4. Schreiber (2025)
    Inclusive and Accessible Technical Editing in the Classroom and Workplace
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  5. Schreiber (2024)
    What Is Technical About Technical Editing?
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
Show all 9 →
  1. Mackiewicz et al. (2024)
    Editors’ Use of Comprehensive Style Guides: The Case of Singular They
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  2. Mallette (2024)
    Preparing Future Technical Editors for an Artificial Intelligence-Enabled Workplace
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  3. Carthell (2024)
    An Analysis of Bias in Language Content in Books Used in Technical and Professi…
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  4. Mackiewicz et al. (2024)
    Editors’ Perceptions of Singular They
    Technical Communication Quarterly

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CrossRef global citation count: 13 View in citation network → Build reading path →

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