Journal of Business and Technical Communication Oct 1997

Revision of Public Information Brochures on the Basis of Reader Feedback

PETER JAN SCHELLENS ; MENNO DEJONG

Abstract

The literature on formative text evaluation pays scant attention to the revision phase following data collection. This article describes a small-scale experiment in which five professional writers were asked to revise brochure fragments on the basis of feedback from readers. The feedback consisted of readers' comments, selected from the results of a pretest of the brochures, regarding their acceptance of the information and their appreciation of text elements. Despite the wide variety of solutions that resulted, some interesting tendencies were found: In response to problems with factual acceptance, writers often decided to add information; in response to problems with normative acceptance, they often chose to substitute material; and in response to appreciation problems, they either deleted the problematic passage or substituted a different phrase.

Journal
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Published
1997-10-01
DOI
10.1177/1050651997011004007
Open Access
Closed
Topics
writing across the curriculum revision

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (3)

  1. Fuller et al. (2021)
    Conceptualizing Empathy Competence: A Professional Communication Perspective
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  2. Jong et al. (2006)
    Dynamics of Iterative Reader Feedback
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  3. Jong et al. (2001)
    Readers' Background Characteristics and Their Feedback on Documents: The Influe…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication

Cites in this index (4)

  1. Jansen et al. (1992)
    Forms as a Source of Communication Problems
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  2. Hill et al. (1991)
    Revising on-line: Computer technologies and the revising process
    Computers and Composition
  3. Hawisher (1987)
    The Effects of Word Processing on the Revision Strategies of College Freshmen
    Research in the Teaching of English
  4. Bridwell (1980)
    Revising Strategies in Twelfth Grade Students’ Transactional Writing
    Research in the Teaching of English
Also cites 4 works outside this index ↓
  1. 10.2307/356602
     ↗
  2. 10.3102/00346543057004481
     ↗
  3. 10.2307/357381
     ↗
  4. 10.1109/47.44541
     ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 14 View in citation network →

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