Journal of Business and Technical Communication Oct 2011

Transfer, Transformation, and Rhetorical Knowledge: Insights From Transfer Theory

Doug Brent University of Calgary

Abstract

This article traces the uncomfortable relationship between writing studies and the concept of learning transfer. First it reviews three stages in the changing attitudes toward learning transfer in writing theory that is influenced by rhetorical genre studies, activity theory, and situated learning. Then it reviews learning transfer theory itself, an area that is seldom explicitly referred to in writing studies. The article concludes with a synthesis that brings transfer theory to bear on writing studies, suggesting directions for developing research and pedagogical practices related to business and technical communication.

Journal
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Published
2011-10-01
DOI
10.1177/1050651911410951
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Topics
rhetorical criticism composition theory genre theory writing pedagogy transfer technical communication
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Citation Context

Cited by in this index (22)

  1. McCaughey (2026)
    Model as Missed Opportunity for Writing Transfer During Career Change
    Written Communication
  2. Mishra et al. (2025)
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  4. Ringer (2025)
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  5. Coffelt et al. (2024)
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  1. DeJeu (2024)
    A Rhetorical Approach for Reimagining Business Writing Instruction in the AI Age
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  2. Tomlinson (2023)
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  3. Moreau (2022)
    Teaching Students in the Technical and Professional Communication Classroom Pra…
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  4. Coffelt et al. (2022)
    Measuring Business and Professional Communication Skills
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  5. Whithaus et al. (2022)
    When Things Collide: Wayfinding in Professional Writers' Early Career Development
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  6. Whitney (2021)
    Feature: Perpetual Convergence: Writing Knowledge Transfer and Figured Worlds
    Teaching English in the Two-Year College
  7. Campbell (2021)
    Rhetorical Body Work: Professional Embodiment in Health Provider Education and …
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  8. White (2021)
    “When It’s Outside of You”
    Pedagogy
  9. Coffelt et al. (2020)
    Exemplary and Unacceptable Workplace Communication Skills
    Business and Professional Communication Quarterly
  10. Russell (2020)
    Metaphor 2: Crossing: Retreading, Non-ing, and a TPC Rationale for Sub-discipli…
    College English
  11. Melonçon et al. (2020)
    A Field-Wide Metasynthesis of Pedagogical Research in Technical and Professiona…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  12. Coffelt et al. (2019)
    Employers’ Perspectives on Workplace Communication Skills: The Meaning of Commu…
    Business and Professional Communication Quarterly
  13. Roderick (2019)
    Self-Regulation and Rhetorical Problem Solving: How Graduate Students Adapt to …
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  14. Morrison (2017)
    Teaching Toward the Telos of Critical Thinking: Genre in Business Communication
    Business and Professional Communication Quarterly
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    Invisible Transfer: An Unexpected Finding in the Pursuit of Transfer
    Business and Professional Communication Quarterly
  16. Alexander et al. (2015)
    DMAC After Dark: Toward a Theory of Distributed Invention
    Computers and Composition
  17. Annous et al. (2015)
    Academic Territorial Borders: A Look at the Writing Ethos in Business Courses i…
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