IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication Mar 2006

The Functions of Formulaic and Nonformulaic Compliments in Interactions About Technical Writing

J. Mackiewicz

Abstract

Writing tutors are encouraged to use compliments in their interactions with technical writing students. However, the form of compliments strongly influences how they function. Specifically, formulaic compliments like "It's good" function differently from nonformulaic compliments like "The size is excellent in terms of visually aiding the reader." A total of 107 compliments were analyzed from 13 interactions between 12 writing tutors and 12 engineering students. About 61% of tutors' compliments followed one of six formulae, and about 39% were nonformulaic. Formulaic compliments were general and mainly performed a phatic function, filling pauses and avoiding silence, particularly in interaction closings. Nonformulaic compliments were more specific and individualized, and they may, therefore, be more instructive than formulaic compliments. Nonformulaic compliments also performed an exploratory function, allowing participants to renegotiate discourse status. This study points to other avenues of research, particularly research that systemically examines writers' perceptions of formulaic and nonformulaic feedback, such as compliments.

Journal
IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
Published
2006-03-01
DOI
10.1109/tpc.2006.870461
CompPile
Search in CompPile ↗
Open Access
Closed
Topics
discourse analysis peer tutoring technical communication
Export
BibTeX RIS

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (0)

No articles in this index cite this work.

Cites in this index (4)

  1. Mackiewicz (2004)
    The Effects of Tutor Expertise in Engineering Writing: A Linguistic Analysis of…
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  2. Locker (1999)
    Factors in Reader Responses to Negative Letters
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  3. Walker et al. (1987)
    Writing Conference Talk: Factors Associated with High- and Low-Rated Writing Co…
    Research in the Teaching of English
  4. JABLIN et al. (1984)
    Characteristics of Rejection Letters and their Effects on Job Applicants
    Written Communication
Also cites 30 works outside this index ↓
  1. 10.1017/CBO9780511813085
     ↗
  2. 10.1515/9783110809145.115
     ↗
  3. 10.1016/S0271-5309(99)00015-4
     ↗
  4. 10.1016/j.langcom.2004.02.003
     ↗
  5. 10.1163/9789004653559_018
     ↗
  6. 10.1017/CBO9780511519772
     ↗
  7. 10.1207/s15327868ms0203_1
     ↗
  8. 10.1017/S1355617701744086
     ↗
  9. 10.1016/S0378-2166(99)00063-6
     ↗
  10. 10.1515/9783110809145.1
     ↗
  11. 10.1080/00437956.1961.11659754
     ↗
  12. 10.1515/9783110809145.289
     ↗
  13. 10.1093/applin/21.1.26
     ↗
  14. 10.1002/(SICI)1099-1379(200005)21:3<235::AID-JOB9>3.0.CO;2-N
     ↗
  15. 10.1177/0893318988002001006
     ↗
  16. 10.1177/002194368802500103
     ↗
  17. 10.2307/378429
     ↗
  18. 10.1016/0378-2166(88)90005-7
     ↗
  19. 10.1017/S0047404500014378
     ↗
  20. 10.1111/j.1473-4192.1995.tb00073.x
     ↗
  21. 10.1111/j.1467-1770.1990.tb00603.x
     ↗
  22. 10.1007/978-1-4612-1204-1
     ↗
  23. 10.1016/S1060-3743(01)00038-8
     ↗
  24. 10.1093/applin/24.1.90
     ↗
  25. 10.1207/s15327973rlsi2601_5
     ↗
  26. 10.1515/text.1.1999.19.2.253
     ↗
  27. 10.1515/9783110219289.2.217
     ↗
  28. 10.1016/B978-0-12-623550-0.50010-0
     ↗
  29. 10.1177/108056999706000204
     ↗
  30. 10.2307/377047
     ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 6 View in citation network → Build reading path →

Related Articles

  1. Pedagogy Jan 2022
    Contributors ↗
    modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism genre theory discourse analysis african american rhetorics decolonial rhetorics first-year composition writing pedagogy basic writing writing across the curriculum graduate education teacher development argument collaborative writing transfer assessment portfolios writing program administration writing centers peer tutoring technical communication professional writing archival research digital rhetoric social media grammar and mechanics literacy studies race and writing gender and writing disability studies public rhetoric community literacy literary studies editorial matter
  2. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication Sep 2025
    UX Research, Management, and Design: What a Textual Analysis of UX Job Ads Means for Technical Communication ↗
    Guiseppe Getto; Bremen Vance
    discourse analysis technical communication professional writing
  3. The Peer Review Sep 2025
    The Writing Center as a Rebel Space: Stories of Tutoring and Writing with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ↗
    Ghada Seifeddine
    discourse analysis teacher development writing centers peer tutoring empirical research multimodality literacy studies race and writing disability studies editorial matter
  4. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication Jun 2025
    Presenting and Making Relevant: Analyzing Teaching Assistant Perceptions of Writing in Statistics Using Semantic Frames ↗
    Ben Markey
    rhetorical criticism genre theory discourse analysis graduate education teacher development assessment technical communication professional writing
  5. Technical Communication Quarterly Apr 2025
    Communicating Global Governmentality: The United Nations Global Compact, BP, and the Implicit Violence of Human Rights Discourse ↗
    Michael T. MacDonald
    rhetorical criticism discourse analysis technical communication qualitative research