Writing Degree Binary: An Argument for Interscription

Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Apr 2010

Writing Degree Binary: An Argument for Interscription

Christopher Berg North Carolina State University

Abstract

Networked electronic text—fragmentary, mutable, connected, and instantly accessible from any computer or handheld device—challenges traditional notions of textual coherence and composition, offering affordances far beyond those possible in traditional, print-based texts, including those made available electronically. Such texts become tools, passively awaiting a user who activates, assimilates, and adapts their contents to his or her particular situation. This article explores the creators' role in such texts, roles that remain underappreciated, unstudied, and misunderstood as a new, and necessary, form of composition activity. Their work is not considered authorship in most traditional senses of composition; although it involves a number of traditional authorial tasks: the decision to connect certain fragments to others, to add affordances beyond those allowed by print, creates the potential for structural coherence and viability of a networked text, potential then realized by users, who themselves become authors of this continually changing text.

Journal: Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Published: 2010-04-01
DOI: 10.2190/tw.40.2.f
Open Access: Closed
Topics: multimodality

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Cites in this index (2)

Swarts (2006)

Coherent Fragments

Written Communication
Swarts (2004)

Textual Grounding: How People Turn Texts into Tools

Journal of Technical Writing and Communication

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