IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication Sep 1987

Truth in technical advertising: A case study

James E. Porter Indiana University – Purdue University Fort Wayne

Abstract

The author considers ethical issues involved in technical advertising by examining several documents produced by a major insurance company to promote and explain a health care plan. The documents (newspaper advertisement, followup brochure, and policy) are evaluated for truthfulness, according to general rhetorical criteria as well as legal and industry standards. The author concludes that technical writers are obliged to acquaint themselves with a variety of ethical principles governing advertising practices. To ensure that readers understand the truth, technical writers should also apply a variety of readability assessments and edit documents carefully to ensure that advertising and promotional literature are intertextually consistent with contracts, warranties, and policies.

Journal
IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
Published
1987-09-01
DOI
10.1109/tpc.1987.6449073
CompPile
Open Access
Closed
Topics
rhetorical criticism qualitative research
Export
BibTeX RIS

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (7)

  1. Walwema et al. (2021)
    “Are You Authorized to Work in the U.S.?” Investigating “Inclusive” Practices i…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  2. Agboka (2020)
    Legally Minded Technical Communicators: A Case Study of a Legal Writing Course
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  3. Robles (2019)
    Caveat Emptor: How Lay Technical and Professional Communicators Sell Technical …
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  4. Hannah (2010)
    Legal Literacy: Coproducing the Law in Technical Communication
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  5. Dombrowski (2000)
    Ethics and Technical Communication: The Past Quarter Century
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Show all 7 →
  1. GRIGGS (1996)
    A Legal Discourse Community: Text Centered and Interdisciplinary in Social and …
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  2. RUSSELL (1993)
    The Ethics of Teaching Ethics in Professional Communication: The Case of Engine…
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication

References (0)

No references on file for this article.

CrossRef global citation count: 8 View in citation network → Build reading path →

Related Articles

  1. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication May 2026
    The User Experience of Virtual Reality for Longitudinal Writing: A Diary Study of Immersive Graduate Dissertation Composing Experience ↗
    Jason Tham; Rich Shivener; Niveditha Pookkottuvariam; Sarah Riddick
    rhetorical criticism graduate education technical communication archival research empirical research qualitative research
  2. Argumentation Apr 2026
    Stance-Dependent Fallacy Judgments and Rhetorical Structure: A Computationally Assisted Case Study of Tolstoy’s What Is Art? ↗
    Shuchun Zhang
    rhetorical criticism qualitative research
  3. Journal of Response to Writing Apr 2026
    Composing in Relation: Rethinking Multimodal Feedback as Rhetorical Design ↗
    Laflen, Angela
    rhetorical criticism composition theory genre theory first-year composition writing pedagogy professional writing qualitative research multimodality editorial matter
  4. Communication Design Quarterly Dec 2025
    Conversation Design: The Evolving Paradigm in Technical and Professional Communication ↗
    Nadya Shalamova; Gustav Verhulsdonck
    rhetorical criticism professional writing qualitative research
  5. Business and Professional Communication Quarterly Sep 2025
    Articulating Academic Consulting as a Pathway for Faculty Development and Career Satisfaction ↗
    Rose Helens-Hart; Jenna Haugen
    rhetorical criticism teacher development professional writing qualitative research