The DoD Tailhook Report: Unanswered Questions

Brenda Orbell

doi:10.2190/m8e6-0e0c-7vyb-ba51

Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Apr 1995

The DoD Tailhook Report: Unanswered Questions

Brenda Orbell Texas Tech University

Abstract

One of the primary objectives of studying theory and practice relating to technical reports is to define what constitutes report writing as genre and to place this genre within a social context. Report writing always involves the investigation of an ill-defined problem and occurs within the auspices of an organizational context. This investigative and reporting function implies a high degree of ethical and social responsibility on the investigator to interpret and report the significance of the facts, making the conclusions explicit, and forming the basis for additional interpretations. Drawing on Susan Wells' conventions for commissioned reports, this article analyzes how the Tailhook Report, which was commissioned to investigate the charges of sexual misconduct by naval aviators at the Tailhook Symposium, omits answering two of the three questions Wells establishes as necessary by precedence in the genre in order to avoid making conclusions that might necessitate actions that would alter the male-dominated power structure of the U.S. Navy.

Journal: Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Published: 1995-04-01
DOI: 10.2190/m8e6-0e0c-7vyb-ba51
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Open Access: Closed
Topics: genre theory professional writing
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Citation Context

Cited by in this index (2)

Cook (2000)

Writers and their maps: The construction of a GAO report on sexual harassment

Technical Communication Quarterly
Dombrowski (2000)

Ethics and Technical Communication: The Past Quarter Century

Journal of Technical Writing and Communication

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The DoD Tailhook Report: Unanswered Questions

Abstract

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (2)

References (15) · 1 in this index

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