Using Desing Principles to Teach Technical Communication

Journal of Business and Technical Communication Apr 1995

Using Desing Principles to Teach Technical Communication

MIKE MARKEL

Abstract

In teaching a technical communication course, I introduced document design principles before discussing traditional verbal rhetoric. A comparison of the writing of two students—a competent writer and a weak one—before and after the design discussion indicates that a basic understanding of design principles helped them improve document macrostructure. They saw the need to involve the audience, to provide an introduction and a forecast, and to organize and highlight information using headings. The design discussion, however, appears to have had little effect on document microstructure. Although more research needs to be conducted to better understand the relationship between verbal and visual rhetoric in technical communication, integrating document design principles early appears to be a promising pedagogical technique.

Journal: Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Published: 1995-04-01
DOI: 10.1177/1050651995009002003
Open Access: Closed
Topics: multimodality technical communication

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (2)

Markel (1998)

What students see: Word processing and the perception of visual design

Computers and Composition
Markel et al. (1996)

Design and Document Quality: Effects of Emphasizing Design Principles in the Te…

Technical Communication Quarterly

Cites in this index (1)

TEBEAUX (1991)

Ramus, Visual Rhetoric, and the Emergence of Page Design in Medical Writing of …

Written Communication

Also cites 1 work outside this index ↓

10.1075/idj.6.1.03kel

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