Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Apr 1991

Emplotting the Reader: Motivation and Technical Documentation

David Goodwin University of Waterloo

Abstract

Technical documents implicitly require readers to play out textually constructed roles in order to create meanings. Good technical writers create texts that motivate their readers by emplotting them in an attractive fabula, and, especially, in a role that not only achieves the ostensible purposes of the documentation but also allows the reader to function as the hero in a narrative of progress and improvement. Drawing on reader-response criticism and narratology, this article shows how a particular instructional software manual, the VP-Expert™ guide, instructs and motivates readers by using devices which resemble the conventions of heroic narrative.

Journal
Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Published
1991-04-01
DOI
10.2190/1tld-2jbl-dd7x-pxk3
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Open Access
Closed
Topics
technical communication
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Citation Context

Cited by in this index (14)

  1. Yusuf et al. (2022)
    A Technical Hair Piece: Metis, Social Justice and Technical Communication in Bl…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  2. Randall (2022)
    Taking the Tactical Out of Technical: A Reassessment of Tactical Technical Comm…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  3. Peter (2017)
    “Make a Bomb in the Kitchen of Your Mom”: Jihadist Tactical Technical Communica…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  4. Ittersum (2014)
    Craft and Narrative in DIY Instructions
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  5. Meij (2007)
    Goal-Orientation, Goal-Setting, and Goal-Driven Behavior in Minimalist User Ins…
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
Show all 14 →
  1. Loorbach et al. (2006)
    The Effects of Motivational Elements in User Instructions
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  2. Todd (1998)
    A Longinian concept and methodology for technical communication
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  3. HENRY et al. (1995)
    Workplace Ghostwriting
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  4. Thompson et al. (1995)
    Putting reader roles to the test: an ethnomethodological approach
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  5. Henry (1994)
    Toward Technical Authorship
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  6. Goodwin (1994)
    Designing a Quick Reference Guide: A Teaching Case
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  7. Goodwin (1994)
    Designing a Quick Reference Guide: A Teaching Case
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  8. Connor (1994)
    Research on Technical and Scientific Communication in Canada: A Bibliographical…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  9. Bosley (1994)
    Feminist theory, audience analysis, and verbal and visual representation in a t…
    Technical Communication Quarterly

References (15) · 2 in this index

  1. Killingsworth et al. (1989)
    Amplification in Technical Manuals: Theory and Practice
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  2. Rabinowitz P. J. (1987)
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  1. Preston J. (1970)
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     ↗
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CrossRef global citation count: 23 View in citation network → Build reading path →

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