IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication Jan 1995

Ethos: character and ethics in technical writing

C.P. Campbell New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology

Abstract

Technical writing tries to be "objective" and "audience-oriented", but it neglects an element of persuasion known in ancient rhetoric as "ethos". This concept translates from the Greek as "character", but that English word does not convey the concept's richness; nor does the Latin "persona", a term sometimes used to describe the narrative voice in technical prose. "Ethos" is the root of "ethics", which tends to objectify values and choices, alienating them from the people making them. In this paper, I suggest that an understanding of "ethos" in all its richness can help writers of technical prose to produce work that, in relation to traditionally "objective" prose, is both more readable and more ethical.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">></ETX>

Journal
IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
Published
1995-01-01
DOI
10.1109/47.406725
CompPile
Open Access
Closed
Topics
classical rhetoric rhetorical criticism argument technical communication
Export
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Citation Context

Cited by in this index (7)

  1. Brooks et al. (2026)
    Tactical Technical Communication as Expert Communication: Strategic Ethos in Co…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  2. Chen (2025)
    Constructed Ethos and Kairotic Responses in Communicating About the COVID-19 Pa…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  3. Bowdon (2014)
    Tweeting an Ethos: Emergency Messaging, Social Media, and Teaching Technical Co…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  4. Moran et al. (2011)
    A Bibliography of Works Published in the History of Professional Communication …
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  5. Ward (2010)
    The Ethic of Exigence: Information Design, Postmodern Ethics, and the Holocaust
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Show all 7 →
  1. Amare et al. (2009)
    Examining Editor-Author Ethics: Real-World Scenarios from Interviews with Three…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  2. Newman (1999)
    Aristotelian Rhetorical Theory as a Framework for Teaching Scientific and Techn…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication

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CrossRef global citation count: 10 View in citation network → Build reading path →

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