Thematic Repetition as Rhetorical Technique

Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Jan 1991

Thematic Repetition as Rhetorical Technique

Jo Allen East Carolina University

Abstract

While several strategies have been credited for enhancing the rhetorical acceptability of important historical works in scientific and technical writing, little attention has been paid to William Harvey's On the Motion of the Heart and Blood in Animals. A close examination of his work shows his fear of publication (because of his contemporaries' long-held beliefs about the order of the body and its functions) and his strategies for reducing resistance to his ideas: appropriate circular references and metaphors and organizational techniques that clarify and enhance not only his thesis—that the blood circulates through the body—but also demonstrate the circular pattern as part of God's natural order for the universe.

Journal: Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Published: 1991-01-01
DOI: 10.2190/nv1n-bjuq-rgd2-ynqm
Open Access: Closed
Topics: technical communication

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (3)

SMITH (1997)

Intertextual Connections to “A Humanistic Rationale for Technical Writing”

Journal of Business and Technical Communication
RIVERS (1994)

Studies in the History of Business and Technical Writing

Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Connor (1993)

Medical Text and Historical Context: Research Issues and Methods in History and…

Journal of Technical Writing and Communication

Cites in this index (3)

Allen (1990)

The Case Against Defining Technical Writing

Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Brockmann (1983)

Bibliography of Articles on the History of Technical Writing

Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Bizzell (1979)

Thomas Kuhn, Scientism, and English Studies

College English

Also cites 3 works outside this index ↓

10.2190/NETC5

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10.2307/375964

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10.2190/NETC9

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