Journal of Business and Technical Communication Apr 2010

Creating Procedural Discourse and Knowledge for Software Users: Beyond Translation and Transmission

Marjorie Rush Hovde Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis

Abstract

Although most theorists agree that discourse creates meaning, they have not adequately described how this process emerges within the creation of procedural knowledge. This article explores how technical communicators in diverse settings based discourse decisions on their knowledge of (a) users, (b) organizational image and constraints, (c) software structure and features, and (d) genre conventions in order to create communication artifacts designed to help users develop procedural knowledge. The transformations in which they engaged indicated that these technical communicators were skilled in forming images in these four areas and then using these images as they created meaning in procedural discourse. In this process, they moved beyond merely translating or transmitting technical knowledge.

Journal
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Published
2010-04-01
DOI
10.1177/1050651909353306
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Open Access
Closed
Topics
genre theory discourse analysis technical communication
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Citation Context

Cited by in this index (4)

  1. Burnett et al. (2025)
    Birthing Genre: Conventions of Rhetorical Situation and Accessibility of Inform…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  2. Willers (2025)
    Lessons from a “Scholar on Fire” for a World on Fire: A Framework to Position T…
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  3. Swarts (2020)
    Technical Communication is a Social Medium
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  4. Swarts (2014)
    The Trouble with Networks: Implications for the Practice of Help Documentation
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication

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