Journal of Business and Technical Communication Jul 1998

Rhetorical Practices in Technical Work

DOROTHY A. WINSOR

Abstract

Engineers' use of rhetoric differs from that of scientists because of the material objects engineers work with and the material conditions under which they act. For engineers, “publication” takes the form of releasing a marketable object, not a refereed article. Thus, they have less need than scientists do to create written theoretical work and can instead build knowledge by group discussion of instrument traces that they tie directly to the object. The fact that they usually work in hierarchical, for-profit organizations also affects their rhetorical practices, as they must shape the actions of those both below and above them in the corporate hierarchy.

Journal
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Published
1998-07-01
DOI
10.1177/1050651998012003004
Open Access
Closed
Topics
race and writing affect and writing

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (14)

  1. Weedon et al. (2021)
    Embodied Genres, Typified Performances, and the Engineering Design Process
    Written Communication
  2. Robles (2018)
    Visualizing Certainty: What the Cultural History of the Gantt Chart Teaches Tec…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  3. Bivens et al. (2018)
    Coordinating Distributed Memory
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  4. Read (2016)
    The <i>Net Work</i> Genre Function
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  5. Rivers et al. (2016)
    Speculative Usability
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Show all 14 →
  1. Dannels (2009)
    Features of Success in Engineering Design Presentations
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  2. Wolfe (2009)
    How Technical Communication Textbooks Fail Engineering Students
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  3. Dannels et al. (2008)
    Critiquing Critiques
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  4. Brady (2007)
    Article: What We Teach and What They Use: Teaching and Learning in Scientific a…
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  5. Dannels (2003)
    Teaching and Learning Design Presentations in Engineering
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  6. Todd (2003)
    Teaching the History of Technical Communication: A Lesson with Franklin and Hoover
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  7. HALLER (2000)
    Rhetorical Invention in Design
    Written Communication
  8. WINSOR (2000)
    Ordering Work
    Written Communication
  9. Todd (2000)
    Burkean Invention in Technical Communication
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication

Cites in this index (6)

  1. MEDWAY (1996)
    Virtual and Material Buildings
    Written Communication
  2. WINSOR (1994)
    Invention and Writing in Technical Work
    Written Communication
  3. THOMPSON (1993)
    Arguing for Experimental “Facts” in Science
    Written Communication
  4. WITTE (1992)
    Context, Text, Intertext
    Written Communication
  5. WINSOR (1989)
    An Engineer's Writing and the Corporate Construction of Knowledge
    Written Communication
Show all 6 →
  1. FAHNESTOCK (1986)
    Accommodating Science
    Written Communication
Also cites 3 works outside this index ↓
  1. 10.2307/1511524
     ↗
  2. 10.1007/BF00710705
     ↗
  3. 10.2307/357883
     ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 24 View in citation network →

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