IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication Mar 2007

The Language of Visuals: Text + Graphics = Visual Rhetoric Tutorial

Nicole Amare University of South Alabama ; Alan Manning Brigham Young University

Abstract

Technical communication textbooks tend to address visual rhetoric as two separate units, usually a chapter on document design and then a chapter on graphics. We advocate teaching a unified system of visual rhetoric that encompasses both text and graphics within a common visual-language system. Using C. S. Peirce's three-part theory of rhetoric and his ten categories of sign, we offer an integrated semiotic system, interpreting in one model the effectiveness of graphics, document design, and formatting, all considered as subtypes in this proposed visual rhetoric, organized around three primary communication goals: to decorate, to indicate, and to inform. Thus, any evaluation of visuals, either textual or graphic, must be made with reference to rhetorical contexts in which audience needs and graphic/textual media choices should align with authorial goals

Journal
IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
Published
2007-03-01
DOI
10.1109/tpc.2006.890851
CompPile
Open Access
Closed
Topics
rhetorical criticism teacher development assessment technical communication multimodality
Export
BibTeX RIS

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (6)

  1. Johnson (2026)
    What Video Games Can Tell Us About Interactive Technical Communication
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  2. Johnson (2022)
    The Aural-Visual Rhetoric in Video Game Tutorials
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  3. Welhausen (2022)
    Precarious Data: Crack, Opioids, and Enacting a Social Justice Ethic in Data Vi…
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  4. Welhausen (2018)
    Toward a Topos of Visual Rhetoric: Teaching Aesthetics Through Color and Typography
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  5. Scott et al. (2010)
    Examining the Role of the Communication Channel Interface and Recipient Charact…
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
Show all 6 →
  1. Amare et al. (2009)
    Examining Editor-Author Ethics: Real-World Scenarios from Interviews with Three…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication

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CrossRef global citation count: 25 View in citation network → Build reading path →

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