Category: Scientific & Technical Writing

Use What You Choose, article posted on ACM

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ACM has published the Proceedings of the 34th ACM International Conference on the Design of Communication (September 2016 SIGDOC ’16), including our article, “Use What You Choose: Applying Computational Methods to Genre Studies in Technical Communication.” My co-authors are William Hart-Davidson, Kenneth C. Walker, Douglas M. Walls, and  Ryan Omizo. Our article is available for free download here: Use What You Choose: Applying Computational Methods to Genre Studies in Technical Communication Brian Larson, William Hart-Davidson, Kenneth C. Walker, Douglas M. Walls, Ryan Omizo SIGDOC ’16 Proceedings of the 34th ACM International Conference on the Design of Communication, 2016 http://dl.acm.org/authorizestats?N27786

Preparing readers for texts… my first CogSci colloquium

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I attended my first colloquium hosted by the Center for Cognitive Sciences at the University of Minnesota. (Information about the weekly series is available on CogSci’s web site.) Today’s presenter was Michael Mensink, a PhD candidate in Educational Psychology. He presented the results of research (by him and his colleagues) into the ways that the attention of students reading texts can be focused by certain kinds of “prereading questions.” The research is reported in Mensink’s forthcoming dissertation and the following article: Peshkam, A., Mensink, M. C., Putnam, A. L., & Rapp, D. N. (n.d.). Warning readers to avoid irrelevant information: Read More …

Readings for November 22 in 8011

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We had four readings for this week, focused on feminist criticism and theory in technical communication research: MacNealy, M. S. (1998). Qualitative Research with Special Lenses: Feminist and Teacher Research (Chapter 12). In Strategies for Empirical Research in Writing. Longman. Schuster, M. L. (2006). A Different Place to Birth: A Material Rhetoric Analysis of Baby Haven, a Free-Standing Birth Center. Women’s Studies in Communication, 29(1), 1-38. doi:Article Schuster, M.L. (writing as Lay, M. M.) (2002). Feminist Criticism and Technical Communication Research. In L. J. Gurak & M. M. Lay (Eds.), Research in Technical Communication: Ablex Publishing. Discussed in a previous Read More …

Propen and Schuster reading for 8011

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One of our readings this week gets special treatment from me, as I have to lead discussion of it. This post includes my summary and questions about it. (Full disclosure: Mary Schuster is my PhD adviser, so I make no claims of objectivity.) Propen, A. D., & Schuster, M. L. (2010). Understanding genre through the lens of advocacy: the rhetorical work of the victim impact statement. Written Communication, 27(1), 3-35. doi:10.1177/0741088309351479 Study overview The authors sought to explore the “rhetorical work” of a victim impact statement (VIS), a statement given at the time a criminal is sentenced in which the Read More …

Reflections on October 11 readings for 8011

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This week, we’re having a visit from Dr. Bernadette Longo. In preparation for that, we are finishing her book Spurious Coin and reading some things she sent along in advance of her visit. I’ve taken copious notes on these six chapters of Spurious Coin but if figured I’d just share a couple items of interest to me, and a few questions I have for Professor Longo. Longo, B. (2000). Spurious Coin: A History of Science, Management, and Technical Writing. State University of New York Press. Chapter 3. Longo’s stated purpose: To trace “the development of the textbook and standardized education Read More …