Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Oct 1986

Perturbations in the Scientific Literature

Joseph E. Harmon Argonne National Laboratory

Abstract

In contrast to the literary artist we expect the scientist-writer to transmit information to the intended audience as accurately and clearly as possible. Nevertheless, a few scientists have managed to slip into their prose such rhetorical devices as anagram, acrostic, pun, metaphor, litotes, and neologism.

Journal
Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Published
1986-10-01
DOI
10.2190/d0qt-9kkp-94wb-u60x
CompPile
Search in CompPile ↗
Open Access
Closed
Topics
rhetorical criticism
Export
BibTeX RIS

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (3)

  1. RIVERS (1994)
    Studies in the History of Business and Technical Writing: A Bibliographical Essay
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  2. Harmon (1992)
    An Analysis of Fifty Citation Superstars from the Scientific Literature
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  3. Harmon (1987)
    The Literature of Enlightenment: Technical Periodicals and Proceedings in the 1…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication

References (10)

  1. Koestler A., The Watershed: A Biography of Johannes Kepler, Doubleday and Company, Inc., New York, p. 200, 1960.
  2. Bird R. B., Stewart W. E., and Lightfoot E. N., Transport Phenomena, John Wiley and Sons, New York, pp. 712–7…
  3. 10.1103/PhysRev.73.803
     ↗
  4. Lewis G. N. and Randall M., Thermodynamics, 2nd edition, revised by Pitzer K. S. and Brewer L., McGraw-Hill B…
  5. Bates M. and Humphrey P. S. (eds.), The Darwin Reader, Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, p. 433, 1956.
Show all 10 →
  1. Patterson J. S. (1984)
    Technical Communication
  2. 10.1038/171737a0
     ↗
  3. 10.1016/S0031-9163(64)92001-3
     ↗
  4. (1985)
    Technical Communication
  5. (1986)
    Proceedings of 33rd International Communication Conference
CrossRef global citation count: 3 View in citation network → Build reading path →

Related Articles

  1. Computers and Composition Jun 2026
    Navigating platform algorithms: Global south feminist activists’ rhetorical and composition practices in digital advocacy on social media ↗
    Kalpana Shrestha
    rhetorical criticism social media gender and writing
  2. Computers and Composition Jun 2026
    Legacies, commitments, and new challenges: The Sweetland Digital Rhetoric Collaborative interviews three generations of Computers and Composition editors ↗
    Ali Alalem; Alyse Campbell; Thais Rodrigues Cons; Funmilola Fadairo; Nicole Koyuki Golden
    rhetorical criticism collaborative writing digital rhetoric
  3. Computers and Composition Jun 2026
    How Baldwin's voice moved Cambridge: Activation contours, mimesis, and a computational approach to rhetoric's sensorium ↗
    David M. Rieder; Michael R. Jackson
    rhetorical criticism
  4. Written Communication May 2026
    Genres Fall Apart: Recuperating the Centrifugal in Rhetorical Genre Analysis ↗
    Rebecca Lorimer Leonard; Angela Rounsaville
    rhetorical criticism genre theory multilingual writers literacy studies community literacy
  5. Business and Professional Communication Quarterly May 2026
    Andrew Carnegie and the Rhetorical History of Business and Professional Communication ↗
    Joe Edward Hatfield
    rhetorical criticism teacher development professional writing archival research