Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Mar 2026

Canon to Code: Rhetorical Rulemaking for Generative AI Content Audits and Governance

Miriam F. Williams

Abstract

This article proposes the Canon to Code (C2C) Auditing Framework for evaluating generative (artificial intelligence) AI output through classical rhetoric, arguing that AI's characteristic failures—guessing instead of knowing, politeness instead of credibility, and confidence instead of judgment—revisit problems that rhetoric has addressed since antiquity. Developed using a rulemaking methodology and drawing on classical rhetorical theory, this framework presents 10 auditing rules that operationalize rhetorical principles into evaluation criteria for AI-generated content, focusing on accuracy, transparency, and accountability. It offers content auditors, technical communicators, and compliance professionals a theoretically grounded method for distinguishing AI output that meets audience needs from output that simulates credibility through pattern matching.

Journal
Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Published
2026-03-24
DOI
10.1177/00472816261429907
CompPile
Open Access
Closed
Topics
classical rhetoric modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism assessment technical communication artificial intelligence
Export
BibTeX RIS

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (0)

No articles in this index cite this work.

References (32) · 4 in this index

  1. Aguilar (2024)
    Rhetorically training students to generate with AI: Social justice applications…
    Computers and Composition
  2. 10.4324/9781003455158-19
     ↗
  3. Amodei D. (2025 April). The urgency of interpretability. Dario Amodei. https://www.darioamodei.com/post/the-u…
  4. Aristotle. (n.d.). Rhetoric (W. Rhys Roberts Trans.). MIT Internet Classics Archive. https://classics.mit.edu…
  5. Aristotle. (n.d.). Topics (W. A. Pickard-Cambridge Trans.). MIT Internet Classics Archive. https://classics.m…
Show all 32 →
  1. Aristotle. (n.d.). Nicomachean ethics (W. D. Ross Trans.). MIT Classics. https://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/n…
  2. Cicero M. T. (n.d.). De inventione; De optimo genere oratorum; Topica (H. M. Hubbell Trans.; Loeb Classical L…
  3. Cicero M. T (1928)
    On the Republic. On the Laws(Original work composed ca. 52–51 BCE)
  4. Cicero M. T. (n.d.). On the orator (Books I–II) (E. W. Sutton & H. Rackham Trans.; Loeb Classical Library No.…
  5. Cicero M. T
    The orations of Marcus Tullius Cicero: Volume 4. Orator
  6. Farley E. A. (2025)
    AI Auditing: First steps towards the effective regulation of Artificial Intelligence systems
    Harvard Journal of Law & Technology
  7. 10.4324/9781003164807
     ↗
  8. Hackos (2016)
    International Standards for Information Development and Content Management
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  9. Hallsby (2024)
    A Copious Void: Rhetoric as Artificial Intelligence 1.0
    Rhetoric Society Quarterly
  10. 10.1162/dint_a_00243
     ↗
  11. Institute of Internal Auditors. (2024). Artificial intelligence auditing framework (Updated ed.). https://www…
  12. Isocrates
    Discourses 15: Antidosis
  13. Kalai A. T. Nachum O. Vempala S. S. Zhang E. (2025 September 5). Why language models hallucinate. OpenAI Blog…
  14. Kenyon K (2024)
    Content operations from start to scale: Perspectives from industry experts
  15. Kerwin C. M. (2003)
    Rulemaking: How government agencies write law and make policy (3rd ed.)
  16. 10.4324/9781032671031
     ↗
  17. 10.55177/tc222744
     ↗
  18. Plato (1926)
    Laws, Volume II: Books 7–12()
  19. Plato. (n.d.). Gorgias (B. Jowett Trans.). Project Gutenberg. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1672/1672-h/167…
  20. Plato. (ca. 370 BCE). Phaedrus (B. Jowett Trans.). Project Gutenberg. https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/16…
  21. 10.1080/00335635109381692
     ↗
  22. 10.1007/s00146-024-01905-3
     ↗
  23. Sano-Franchini J. McIntyre M. Fernandes M. (2024 November). Refusing GenAI in writing studies: A quickstart g…
  24. “Stasis,” in Sourcebook on Rhetoric
    Key concepts in contemporary rhetorical studies
  25. 10.55177/tc286621
     ↗
  26. Welchman L. (2015)
    Managing chaos: Digital governance by design
  27. Williams (2009)
    Understanding Public Policy Development as a Technological Process
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
CrossRef global citation count: 0 View in citation network → Build reading path →

Related Articles

  1. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Jan 2022
    Changing Climate, Changing Terrain: The Stasis Metaphor and the Climate Crisis ↗
    Shelton Weech
    classical rhetoric modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism argument assessment technical communication
  2. Pedagogy Oct 2025
    Contributors ↗
    modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism genre theory cultural rhetorics first-year composition writing pedagogy advanced composition creative writing writing across the curriculum graduate education two-year college service learning teacher development technical communication professional writing labor and working conditions archival research multimodality artificial intelligence literacy studies race and writing gender and writing disability studies literary studies editorial matter
  3. Pedagogy Apr 2024
    Contributors ↗
    modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism feminist rhetorics first-year composition writing pedagogy creative writing teacher development collaborative writing assessment technical communication professional writing grammar and mechanics literacy studies gender and writing literary studies book reviews editorial matter
  4. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication Dec 2023
    The State of UX Pedagogy ↗
    Philip B. Gallagher; Guiseppe Getto
    modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism discourse analysis writing pedagogy teacher development argument assessment technical communication book reviews
  5. Pedagogy Jan 2022
    Contributors ↗
    modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism genre theory discourse analysis african american rhetorics decolonial rhetorics first-year composition writing pedagogy basic writing writing across the curriculum graduate education teacher development argument collaborative writing transfer assessment portfolios writing program administration writing centers peer tutoring technical communication professional writing archival research digital rhetoric social media grammar and mechanics literacy studies race and writing gender and writing disability studies public rhetoric community literacy literary studies editorial matter