Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Jul 1999

Technical Writing in Seventeenth-Century England: The Flowering of a Tradition

Elizabeth Tebeaux Texas A&M University

Abstract

English technical writing clearly emerged during the Renaissance and the first decades of printing, but during the 1641–1700 period technical writing gained credibility and prestige. It was a valued tool for achieving the utilitarian ends of an age in which practical goals were valued more than aesthetic ones. Technical writing can be found in a range of disciplines, such as agriculture, medicine, science, as well as the major English trades and crafts. As a valued form of discourse, it illuminates the world of work in seventeenth-century England and the problems faced by the early experimenters of the Royal Society who sought to use science to solve major human, military, and economic problems while seeking to expand understanding of nature. Studying technical writing of this period allows us to track the continued development of technical writing as a distinct form of discourse.

Journal
Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Published
1999-07-01
DOI
10.2190/0et6-4v6n-kwle-xje1
Open Access
Closed
Topics
technical communication multilingual writers

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (7)

  1. Keane (2020)
    An Examination of the <i>Book of Common Prayer</i> as Technical Writing for an …
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  2. Battalio (2013)
    Sixteenth- and Seventeenth-Century Falconry Manuals: Technical Writing with a C…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  3. Moran et al. (2011)
    A Bibliography of Works Published in the History of Professional Communication …
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  4. Williams (2010)
    Interpretive Discourse and other Models from Communication Studies: Expanding t…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  5. Tebeaux (2010)
    English Agriculture and Estate Management Instructions, 1200–1700: From Orality…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
Show all 7 →
  1. Tebeaux (2008)
    Technical Writing in English Renaissance Shipwrightery: Breaching the Shoals of…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  2. Tebeaux (2000)
    Visual Texts: Format and the Evolution of English Accounting Texts, 1100–1700
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication

Cites in this index (3)

  1. Tebeaux (1999)
    Designing Written Business Communication along the Shifting Cultural Continuum
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  2. Tebeaux (1998)
    The voices of English women technical writers, 1641–1700: Imprints in the evolu…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  3. TEBEAUX (1991)
    Ramus, Visual Rhetoric, and the Emergence of Page Design in Medical Writing of …
    Written Communication
Also cites 7 works outside this index ↓
  1. 10.1525/9780520318649-005
     ↗
  2. 10.1525/9780520318649-008
     ↗
  3. 10.1177/007327538602400101
     ↗
  4. 10.1017/CBO9780511897078.011
     ↗
  5. 10.1017/CBO9780511897078
     ↗
  6. 10.1525/9780520318649-007
     ↗
  7. 10.2190/ETRC10
     ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 10 View in citation network →

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