Abstract

The evolution of page design to improve the readability of technical writing can be traced to improvements in typography and also to the influence of Peter Ramus. Ramus's logic used bracketed outlines to show the relationships among ideas within larger concepts. Used by legal writers and Puritan theologians to analyze concepts, Ramist method was also used by English physicians who sought to create medical texts that could be easily read and remembered by students and practitioners. Texts that used Ramist method illustrate their writers' awareness of the importance of making information visually accessible by use of white space, headings that reveal hierarchies of ideas, and bracketed dichotomies and partitions to reveal content for selective reading.

Journal
Written Communication
Published
1991-10-01
DOI
10.1177/0741088391008004001
Open Access
Closed
Topics

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (12)

  1. Written Communication
  2. Technical Communication Quarterly
  3. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  4. Technical Communication Quarterly
  5. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Show all 12 →
  1. Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  2. Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  3. Rhetoric Society Quarterly
  4. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  5. Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  6. Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  7. Journal of Business and Technical Communication

Cites in this index (1)

  1. Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Also cites 4 works outside this index ↓
  1. 10.2307/747349
  2. 10.2307/375964
  3. 10.3758/BF03203549
  4. 10.1037/0022-0663.74.3.323
CrossRef global citation count: 13 View in citation network →