Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Apr 2003

Observations on Entrepreneurship, Instructional Texts, and Personal Interaction

Katherine T. Durack Miami University

Abstract

This article explores the complexity in Rohan's observation that “although texts in progress create community, this function hasn't value; in the world of business works in progress must be free” [1, p. 130]. To do so, the article describes the history of the development of the paper sewing pattern, discusses the role personal communications with consumers played as the genre evolved, and offers observations on the kinds of instruction provided by sewing machine and pattern companies. The extent to which gender and authority are connected in communications between consumers and corporate authors is explored. The article concludes by observing that once a genre is sufficiently established to become a standard, two changes occur: industries adopt authority for only certain types of necessary information, and women's authorship becomes anonymous, corporate, and personal exchanges with consumers are curtailed to save the expense.

Journal
Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Published
2003-04-01
DOI
10.2190/y5vh-had2-pyt1-tr1n
CompPile
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Open Access
Closed
Topics
genre theory gender and writing
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Citation Context

Cited by in this index (2)

  1. Moran et al. (2012)
    A Bibliography of Works Published in the History of Professional Communication …
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  2. Malone (2007)
    Historical Studies of Technical Communication in the United States and England:…
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication

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    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  2. Durack K. T. (1997)
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  3. Spinuzzi (2001)
    Grappling with Distributed Usability: A Cultural-Historical Examination of Docu…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  4. Brockmann R. J. (1998)
    From Millwrights to Shipwrights to the Twenty-First Century: Historical Considerations of…
  5. Clendenning A., Sewing Pattern Makers Merging, The Cincinnati Enquirer, June 5, 2001. March 26, 2003 <http://…
Show all 43 →
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     ↗
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CrossRef global citation count: 2 View in citation network → Build reading path →

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