Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Jan 2011

Evaluating Applications for an Informal Approach to Information Design: Readers Respond to Three Articles about Nursing

Russell Willerton Boise State University ; Mary Hereford Boise State University

Abstract

Although books in the For Dummies series and other similar series have found commercial success, the approach to information design they use has not received much attention in technical communication journals. This article reports on readers' responses to information presented in the magazine Nursing Made Incredibly Easy! and two other nursing journals. Three groups of readers (two groups of nursing students and one group of nursing faculty members) responded to three articles they read by completing questionnaires and participating in focus groups. Nursing Made Incredibly Easy! was regarded as easy to read and as a good starting point for less-experienced readers, but its tone and style elicited some strong objections as well. The article provides observations and recommendations about using an informal approach to information design.

Journal
Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Published
2011-01-01
DOI
10.2190/tw.41.1.d
Open Access
Closed
Topics
multimodality technical communication multilingual writers voice and style

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (4)

  1. Meloncon et al. (2019)
    Empirical Research in Technical and Professional Communication: A 5-Year Examin…
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  2. Reed (2018)
    Building on Bibliography: Toward Useful Categorization of Research in Rhetorics…
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  3. Sánchez (2017)
    The Roles of Technical Communication Researchers in Design Scholarship
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  4. Garwood (2013)
    Metonymy and Plain Language
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication

Cites in this index (5)

  1. Willerton (2008)
    Writing Toward Readers' Better Health: A Case Study Examining the Development o…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  2. Wright (2008)
    Implicature, Pragmatics, and Documentation: A Comparative Study
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  3. MacKiewicz (2005)
    How to Use Five Letterforms to Gauge a Typeface's Personality: A Research-Drive…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  4. Willerton (2005)
    Visual Metonymy and Synecdoche: Rhetoric for Stage-Setting Images
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  5. Jeyaraj (2004)
    Liminality and Othering
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Also cites 2 works outside this index ↓
  1. 10.1097/00152258-200605000-00003
     ↗
  2. 10.1097/00006205-200606000-00004
     ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 4 View in citation network →

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