Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Jan 2014

Wicked Problems in Technical Communication

Chad Wickman Auburn University

Abstract

This article develops a framework for rhetorical inquiry that builds on the concept of wicked problems as conceptualized through social policy and design studies research. Responding to technical communication scholarship that calls for increased engagement with public issues and controversies, the author specifically discusses a writing course that used the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill as a basis for teaching problem-based rhetorical invention, document production, interdisciplinary collaboration, and professional development. The framework described in this article ultimately offers a heuristic for students to research and write about ill-defined problems that must be addressed in time but that demand sustained engagement over time—activities that begin in the classroom but ideally continue to develop throughout their personal and professional lives.

Journal
Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Published
2014-01-01
DOI
10.2190/tw.44.1.c
CompPile
Search in CompPile ↗
Open Access
Closed
Topics
rhetorical criticism writing pedagogy teacher development collaborative writing technical communication professional writing
Export
BibTeX RIS

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (28)

  1. Hsiao (2026)
    “It's Hard to Show ROI When You’re Preventing Things from Happening”: How Impac…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  2. Brooks et al. (2026)
    Tactical Technical Communication as Expert Communication: Strategic Ethos in Co…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  3. Tham (2026)
    Evolving Information Design: Insights from Senior Experts in Technical and Prof…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  4. Stambler et al. (2025)
    Beyond Digital Literacy: Investigating Threshold Concepts to Foster Engagement …
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  5. Sánchez (2025)
    Cultivating Phronesis through Wicked Stories
    Pedagogy
Show all 28 →
  1. Jiang (2024)
    When generative artificial intelligence meets multimodal composition: Rethinkin…
    Computers and Composition
  2. Stambler et al. (2024)
    Toward Digital Life: Embracing, Complicating, and Reconceptualizing Digital Lit…
    Communication Design Quarterly
  3. Stambler et al. (2024)
    Toward Digital Life: Embracing, Complicating, and Reconceptualizing Digital Lit…
    Communication Design Quarterly
  4. Carlson et al. (2023)
    Tuning to Place: Using Photos to Better Understand Problems in Technical Commun…
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  5. Welhausen (2023)
    Wicked Problems in Risk Assessment: Mapping Yellow Fever and Constructing Risk …
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  6. Carlson (2023)
    “Who Am I Fighting For? Who Am I Accountable To?”: Comradeship as a Frame for N…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  7. Pellegrini (2022)
    Composing Like an Entrepreneur: The Pedagogical Implications of Design Thinking…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  8. Tham (2022)
    Pasts and Futures of Design Thinking: Implications for Technical Communication
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  9. Gouge et al. (2022)
    Building Toward More Just Data Practices
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  10. Stevens (2022)
    “I Don't Have a Gun Stop Shooting”: Rhetorical Analysis of Law Enforcement Use …
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  11. Tham (2021)
    Engaging Design Thinking and Making in Technical and Professional Communication…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  12. Weedon et al. (2021)
    Embodied Genres, Typified Performances, and the Engineering Design Process
    Written Communication
  13. Verhulsdonck et al. (2021)
    Investigating the Impact of Design Thinking, Content Strategy, and Artificial I…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  14. Itchuaqiyaq et al. (2021)
    Decolonial Dinners: Ethical Considerations of “Decolonial” Metaphors in TPC
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  15. Purdy (2021)
    Review: Circulating Ethical Digital Writing
    College English
  16. Gallagher et al. (2020)
    Peering into the Internet Abyss: Using Big Data Audience Analysis to Understand…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  17. Overmyer et al. (2019)
    Literature Review: Design Thinking and Place
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  18. Pope-Ruark et al. (2019)
    Introduction to Special Issue: Design-Thinking Approaches in Technical and Prof…
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  19. Weedon (2019)
    The Role of Rhetoric in Engineering Judgment
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  20. Rose et al. (2018)
    Participatory video methods in UX: sharing power with users to gain insights in…
    Communication Design Quarterly
  21. Gouge (2017)
    Improving Patient Discharge Communication
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  22. Sánchez (2017)
    The Roles of Technical Communication Researchers in Design Scholarship
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  23. Hopton et al. (2017)
    Saving the sea, socially: measuring the relationship between content and gestur…
    Communication Design Quarterly

References (27) · 14 in this index

  1. Rude (2008)
    Introduction to the Special Issue on Business and Technical Communication in th…
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  2. Krauss C. and Broder J. M., Deepwater Oil Drilling Picks Up Again as BP Disaster Fades, The New York Times, M…
  3. HUCKIN (1997)
    Technical Writing and Community Service
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  4. Henson et al. (1998)
    A Service Learning Approach to Business and Technical Writing Instruction
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  5. Matthews et al. (1999)
    Integrating service learning and technical communication: Benefits and challenges
    Technical Communication Quarterly
Show all 27 →
  1. Sapp et al. (2002)
    A Laboratory in Citizenship: Service Learning in the Technical Communication Cl…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  2. Ornatowski et al. (2004)
    What's Civic About Technical Communication? Technical Communication and the Rhe…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  3. Scott (2004)
    Rearticulating Civic Engagement Through Cultural Studies and Service-Learning
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  4. 10.1007/BF01405730
     ↗
  5. Miller C. R. (1989)
    Technical Writing: Theory and Practice
  6. Miller T. (1991)
    Journal of Advanced Composition
  7. Dubinsky J. M. (2002)
    Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning
  8. Simmons M., Encouraging Civic Engagement through Extended Community Writing Projects: Rewriting the Curriculu…
  9. Gross et al. (1997)
    The Challenger Disaster And The Revival Of Rhetoric In Organizational Life
    Argumentation
  10. Tufte E. R. (1997)
    Visual Explanations: Images and Quantities, Evidence and Narratives
  11. Herndl C. G. (1991)
    Textual Dynamics of the Professions: Historical and Contemporary Studies of Writing in Pr…
  12. 10.1016/j.destud.2004.06.005
     ↗
  13. 10.2307/1511637
     ↗
  14. 10.1353/par.2001.0012
     ↗
  15. Kaufer D. S. (1996)
    Rhetoric and the Arts of Design
  16. 10.2307/1512100
     ↗
  17. Marback (2009)
    Embracing Wicked Problems: The Turn to Design in Composition Studies
    College Composition and Communication
  18. Mara (2006)
    PEDAGOGICAL APPROACHES: Using Charettes to Perform Civic Engagement in Technica…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  19. Blythe et al. (2008)
    Action Research and Wicked Environmental Problems: Exploring Appropriate Roles …
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  20. Wickman (2010)
    Writing Material in Chemical Physics Research: The Laboratory Notebook as Locus…
    Written Communication
  21. Wickman (2012)
    Rhetoric,Technê, and the Art of Scientific Inquiry
    Rhetoric Review
  22. Wickman (2013)
    Observing Inscriptions at Work: Visualization and Text Production in Experiment…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
CrossRef global citation count: 41 View in citation network → Build reading path →

Related Articles

  1. Pedagogy Apr 2024
    Contributors ↗
    modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism feminist rhetorics first-year composition writing pedagogy creative writing teacher development collaborative writing assessment technical communication professional writing grammar and mechanics literacy studies gender and writing literary studies book reviews editorial matter
  2. Pedagogy Apr 2022
    Contributors ↗
    rhetorical criticism writing pedagogy creative writing writing across the curriculum teacher development collaborative writing assessment writing program administration technical communication professional writing digital rhetoric literacy studies gender and writing disability studies literary studies book reviews editorial matter
  3. Pedagogy Jan 2022
    Contributors ↗
    modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism genre theory discourse analysis african american rhetorics decolonial rhetorics first-year composition writing pedagogy basic writing writing across the curriculum graduate education teacher development argument collaborative writing transfer assessment portfolios writing program administration writing centers peer tutoring technical communication professional writing archival research digital rhetoric social media grammar and mechanics literacy studies race and writing gender and writing disability studies public rhetoric community literacy literary studies editorial matter
  4. Prompt: A Journal of Academic Writing Assignments Jan 2026
    A Murder Most Technical: Gamification, AI, and Rhetorical Genre Studies in the Technical Writing Classroom ↗
    Justin Cook
    genre theory writing pedagogy service learning teacher development argument collaborative writing technical communication professional writing
  5. Pedagogy Oct 2025
    Contributors ↗
    modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism genre theory cultural rhetorics first-year composition writing pedagogy advanced composition creative writing writing across the curriculum graduate education two-year college service learning teacher development technical communication professional writing labor and working conditions archival research multimodality artificial intelligence literacy studies race and writing gender and writing disability studies literary studies editorial matter