Rhetoric & Technical Communication
Rhetoric & Technical Communication
Aaron A. Toscano, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Dept. of English

Resources and Daily Activities

  • Conference Presentations
    • Critical Theory/MRG 2023 Presentation
    • PCA/ACA Conference Presentation 2022
    • PCAS/ACAS Presentation 2021
    • SEACS 2021 Presentation
    • SEACS 2022 Presentation
    • SEACS 2023 Presentation
    • South Atlantic MLA Conference 2022
  • Dr. Toscano’s Homepage
  • ENGL 2116-014: Introduction to Technical Communication
    • April 10th: Analyzing Ethics
      • Ethical Dilemmas for Homework
      • Ethical Dilemmas to Ponder
      • Mapping Our Personal Ethics
    • April 12th: Writing Ethically
    • April 17th: Ethics Continued
    • April 19th: More on Ethics in Writing and Professional Contexts
    • April 24th: Mastering Oral Presentations
    • April 3rd: Research Fun
    • April 5th: More Research Fun
      • Epistemology and Other Fun Research Ideas
      • Research
    • February 13th: Introduction to User Design
    • February 15th: Instructions for Users
      • Making Résumés and Cover Letters More Effective
    • February 1st: Reflection on Workplace Messages
    • February 20th: The Rhetoric of Technology
    • February 22nd: Social Constructions of Technology
    • February 6th: Plain Language
    • January 11th: More Introduction to Class
    • January 18th: Audience & Purpose
    • January 23rd: Résumés and Cover Letters
      • Duty Format for Résumés
      • Peter Profit’s Cover Letter
    • January 25th: More on Résumés and Cover Letters
    • January 30th: Achieving a Readable Style
      • Euphemisms
      • Prose Practice for Next Class
      • Prose Revision Assignment
      • Revising Prose: Efficiency, Accuracy, and Good
      • Sentence Clarity
    • January 9th: Introduction to the Class
    • Major Assignments
    • March 13th: Introduction to Information Design
    • March 15th: More on Information Design
    • March 20th: Reporting Technical Information
    • March 27th: The Great I, Robot Analysis
    • May 1st: Final Portfolio Requirements
  • ENGL 4182/5182: Information Design & Digital Publishing
    • August 21st: Introduction to the Course
      • Rhetorical Principles of Information Design
    • August 28th: Introduction to Information Design
      • Prejudice and Rhetoric
      • Robin Williams’s Principles of Design
    • Classmates Webpages (Fall 2017)
    • December 4th: Presentations
    • Major Assignments for ENGL 4182/5182 (Fall 2017)
    • November 13th: More on Color
      • Designing with Color
      • Important Images
    • November 20th: Extra-Textual Elements
    • November 27th: Presentation/Portfolio Workshop
    • November 6th: In Living Color
    • October 16th: Type Fever
      • Typography
    • October 23rd: More on Type
    • October 2nd: MIDTERM FUN!!!
    • October 30th: Working with Graphics
      • Beerknurd Calendar 2018
    • September 11th: Talking about Design without Using “Thingy”
      • Theory, theory, practice
    • September 18th: The Whole Document
    • September 25th: Page Design
  • ENGL 4183/5183: Editing with Digital Technologies
    • August 23rd: Introduction to the Class
    • August 30th: Rhetoric, Words, and Composing
    • Major Assignments for ENGL 4183/5183 (Fall 2023)
    • November 15th: Cohesive Rhythm
    • November 1st: Stylistic Variations
    • November 29th: Voice and Other Nebulous Writing Terms
      • Rhetoric of Fear (prose example)
    • November 8th: Rhetorical Effects of Punctuation
    • October 11th: Choosing Adjectivals
    • October 18th: Choosing Nominals
    • October 4th: Form and Function
    • September 13th: Verb is the Word!
    • September 27th: Coordination and Subordination
      • Parallelism
    • September 6th: Sentence Patterns
  • ENGL 4275: Rhetoric of Technology
    • April 13th: Authorities in Science and Technology
    • April 15th: Articles on Violence in Video Games
    • April 20th: Presentations
    • April 6th: Technology in the home
    • April 8th: Writing Discussion
    • Assignments for ENGL 4275
    • February 10th: Religion of Technology Part 3 of 3
    • February 12th: Is Love a Technology?
    • February 17th: Technology and Gender
    • February 19th: Technology and Expediency
    • February 24th: Semester Review
    • February 3rd: Religion of Technology Part 1 of 3
    • February 5th: Religion of Technology Part 2 of 3
    • January 13th: Technology and Meaning, a Humanist perspective
    • January 15th: Technology and Democracy
    • January 22nd: The Politics of Technology
    • January 27th: Discussion on Writing as Thinking
    • January 29th: Technology and Postmodernism
    • January 8th: Introduction to the Course
    • March 11th: Writing and Other Fun
    • March 16th: Neuromancer (1984) Day 1 of 2
    • March 18th: Neuromancer (1984) Day 2 of 2
    • March 23rd: Inception (2010)
    • March 25th: Writing and Reflecting Discussion
    • March 30th & April 1st: Count Zero
    • March 9th: William Gibson’s Neuromancer (1984)
  • ENGL 6166: Rhetorical Theory
    • April 12th: Knoblauch. Ch. 4 and Ch. 5
    • April 19th: Jacques Derrida’s Positions
    • April 26th:  Feminisms and Rhetorics
    • April 5th: Knoblauch. Ch. 3 and More Constitutive Rhetoric
    • February 15th: Isocrates (Part 2)
    • February 1st: Aristotle’s On Rhetoric Books 2 & 3
      • Aristotle’s On Rhetoric, Book 2
      • Aristotle’s On Rhetoric, Book 3
    • February 22nd: St. Augustine’s On Christian Doctrine [Rhetoric]
    • February 8th: Isocrates (Part 1)-2nd Half of Class
    • January 11th: Introduction to Class
    • January 18th: Plato’s Phaedrus
    • January 25th: Aristotle’s On Rhetoric Book 1
    • March 15th: Descartes, Rene, Discourse on Method
    • March 1st: Knoblauch. Ch. 1 and 2
    • March 22nd: Mary Wollstonecraft
    • March 29th: Second Wave Feminist Rhetoric
    • May 3rd: Knoblauch. Ch. 6, 7, and “Afterword”
    • Rhetorical Theory Assignments
  • ENGL/COMM/WRDS: The Rhetoric of Fear
    • April 11th: McCarthyism Part 1
    • April 18th: McCarthyism Part 2
    • April 25th: The Satanic Panic
    • April 4th: Suspense/Horror/Fear in Film
    • February 14th: Fascism and Other Valentine’s Day Atrocities
    • February 21st: Fascism Part 2
    • February 7th: Fallacies Part 3 and American Politics Part 2
    • January 10th: Introduction to the Class
    • January 17th: Scapegoats & Conspiracies
    • January 24th: The Rhetoric of Fear and Fallacies Part 1
    • January 31st: Fallacies Part 2 and American Politics Part 1
    • Major Assignments
    • March 28th: Nineteen Eighty-Four
    • March 7th: Fascism Part 3
    • May 2nd: The Satanic Panic Part II
      • Rhetoric of Fear and Job Losses
  • Intercultural Communication on the Amalfi Coast
    • Pedagogical Theory for Study Abroad
  • LBST 2213-110: Science, Technology, and Society
    • August 22nd: Science and Technology from a Humanistic Perspective
    • August 24th: Science and Technology, a Humanistic Approach
    • August 29th: Collins & Pinch’s The Golem (Science), Ch. 2
    • August 31st: Collins & Pinch’s The Golem (Science), Ch. 3 and 4
    • December 5th: Video Games and Violence, a more nuanced view
    • November 14th: Boulle, Pierre. Planet of the Apes. (1964) Ch. 27-end
    • November 16th: Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. 1818. Preface-Ch. 8
    • November 21st: Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. 1818. Ch. 9-Ch. 16
    • November 28th: Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. Ch. 17-Ch. 24
    • November 30th: Violence in Video Games
    • November 7th: Boulle, Pierre. Planet of the Apes Ch. 1-17
    • November 9th: Boulle, Pierre. Planet of the Apes, Ch. 18-26
    • October 12th: Lies Economics Tells
    • October 17th: Brief Histories of Medicine, Salerno, and Galen
    • October 19th: Politicizing Science and Medicine
    • October 24th: COVID-19 Facial Covering Rhetoric
    • October 26th: Wells, H. G. Time Machine. Ch. 1-5
    • October 31st: Wells, H. G. The Time Machine Ch. 6-The End
    • October 3rd: Collins & Pinch’s The Golem at Large (Technology), Ch. 7 and Conclusion
    • September 12th: Collins & Pinch’s The Golem (Science), Ch. 7 and Conclusion
    • September 19th: Collins & Pinch’s The Golem at Large (Technology), Prefaces and Ch. 1
    • September 26th: Collins & Pinch’s The Golem at Large (Technology), Ch. 2
    • September 28th: Collins & Pinch’s The Golem at Large (Technology), Ch. 5 and 6
    • September 7th: Collins & Pinch’s The Golem (Science), Ch. 5 and 6
  • New Media: Gender, Culture, Technology (Spring 2021)
    • April 13th: Virtually ‘Real’ Environments
    • April 20th: Rhetoric/Composition Defines New Media
    • April 27th: Sub/Cultural Politics, Hegemony, and Agency
    • April 6th: Capitalist Realism
    • February 16: Misunderstanding the Internet
    • February 23rd: Our Public Sphere and the Media
    • February 2nd: Introduction to Cultural Studies
    • January 26th: Introduction to New Media
    • Major Assignments for New Media (Spring 2021)
    • March 16th: Identity Politics
    • March 23rd: Social Construction of Gender and Sexuality
    • March 2nd: Foundational Thinkers in Cultural Studies
    • March 30th: Hyperreality
    • March 9th: Globalization & Postmodernism
    • May 4th: Wrapping Up The Semester
      • Jodi Dean “The The Illusion of Democracy” & “Communicative Capitalism”
      • Social Construction of Sexuality
  • Science Fiction and American Culture
    • Assignments for Science Fiction and American Culture
    • August 21: Introduction to to “Science Fiction and American Culture”
    • August 23: More Introduction
    • August 28: Gender Studies and Science Fiction
    • August 30th: Robots and Zombies
    • November 1: Octavia Butler’s Dawn (Part I)
    • November 13: The Dispossessed (Part I)
    • November 15: The Dispossessed (Part II)
    • November 20: In/Human Beauty
    • November 27: Wall-E and Trash
    • November 6: Octavia Butler’s Dawn (Parts I and II)
    • November 8: Octavia Butler’s Dawn (Parts III and IV)
    • October 11th: Zone One (Part III)
    • October 16th: Babel-17 (Parts I & II)
    • October 18th: Babel-17 (Parts III, IV, & V)
    • October 25: Inception (2010)
    • October 30th: Interstellar (2014)
    • October 4th: Zone One (Part 1)
    • October 9th: Zone One (Part II)
    • September 11th: William Gibson, Part I
    • September 13th: William Gibson, Part II
    • September 18: The Matrix (1999)
    • September 20: Hackers (1995)
    • September 25: Firefly and Black Mirror
    • September 27th: All Systems Red
    • September 6th: Alien Other and Worlds Beyond
  • Teaching Portfolio
  • Topics for Analysis
    • A Practical Editing Situation
    • American Culture, an Introduction
    • Cultural Studies and Science Fiction Films
    • Efficiency in Writing Reviews
    • Feminism, An Introduction
    • Fordism/Taylorism
    • Frankenstein Part I
    • Frankenstein Part II
    • Futurism Introduction
    • How to Lie with Statistics
    • How to Make an Argument with Sources
    • Isaac Asimov’s “A Cult of Ignorance”
    • Langdon Winner Summary: The Politics of Technology
    • Marxist Theory (cultural analysis)
    • Oral Presentations
    • Oratory and Argument Analysis
    • Our Public Sphere
    • Postmodernism Introduction
    • Protesting Confederate Place
    • Punctuation Refresher
    • QT, the Existential Robot
    • Religion of Technology Discussion
    • Rhetoric, an Introduction
      • Analyzing the Culture of Technical Writer Ads
      • Rhetoric of Technology
      • Visual Culture
      • Visual Perception
      • Visual Perception, Culture, and Rhetoric
      • Visual Rhetoric
      • Visuals for Technical Communication
      • World War I Propaganda
    • The Great I, Robot Discussion
      • I, Robot Short Essay Topics
    • The Rhetoric of Video Games: A Cultural Perspective
      • Civilization, an Analysis
    • The Sopranos
    • Why Science Fiction?
    • Zombies and Consumption Satire
  • Video Games & American Culture
    • April 14th: Phallocentrism
    • April 21st: Video Games and Neoliberalism
    • April 7th: Video Games and Conquest
    • Assignments for Video Games & American Culture
    • February 10th: Aesthetics and Culture
    • February 17th: Narrative and Catharsis
    • February 24th: Serious Games
    • February 3rd: More History of Video Games
    • January 13th: Introduction to the course
    • January 20th: Introduction to Video Game Studies
    • January 27th: Games & Culture
      • Marxism for Video Game Analysis
      • Postmodernism for Video Game Analysis
    • March 24th: Realism, Interpretation(s), and Meaning Making
    • March 31st: Feminist Perspectives and Politics
    • March 3rd: Risky Business?

Contact Me

Office: Fretwell 255F
Email: atoscano@uncc.edu
ENGL 2116-014: Introduction to Technical Communication » March 13th: Introduction to Information Design

March 13th: Introduction to Information Design

Overview for the Week

This week will be about information design. This is an introduction only, but I should mention we do teach a course on it: ENGL 4182 “Information Design & Digital Publishing.” That course provides an in-depth look at principles of design. We’ll just scratch the surface in this class, and Wednesday’s webpage will be more about visuals in general. Many of you didn’t include a visual for your Set of Procedures assignment, so much sure you do so for you revision in your Finial Portfolio.

Also, I, Robot is coming up in two weeks, so you might want to get started on reading it.

Using Visuals in Technical Communication

It’s probably obvious to mention that visuals are an important component of Technical Communication. Some people forget that visuals communicate information about technologies and technical subjects. Think about all the illustrations, charts, graphs, etc. that you’ve seen. Why do you think an author included them?

Thinking about the Digital Void…I Mean World

What do you think about these Websites?

  • Guggenheim Museum – New York
  • The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  • The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)

I don’t expect you to have a background in art history, but, as a potential user of the above websites, you might want to know what’s new, borrowed, and (for Picasso fans) blue. Knowing the museum’s location, ticket price, and hours would be helpful.

English Department Websites:

  • UNC Charlotte’s English Department
  • University of Louisville’s English Department
  • Towson University’s English Department
  • University of Florida’s English Department

You might not have reason to go to an English Department website, but, as a major of a department, you probably have expectations for departmental websites in general. In addition to faculty, major requirements, and upcoming events, what else might you think is essential for a department’s website?

Other Websites

  • Electronic Gamming Monthly (EGM.com)
  • AMD’s website
  • PC Gamer Magazine Site
  • Farfetch.com (formerly Style.Com’s Site)

What attributes do you think the different types of websites above should have?

Also, what problems could arise if you used Dr. Eastin’s monitor as the “typical” monitor for users of your webpage?

  • That monitor was huge–friggin enormous circa 2006. Now, it’s not as rare as it was. However, it’s important to remember that your audience will access your information in various ways, including on mobile devices. One expectation I have is that students will access this class website and Canvas on a desktop or laptop.
  • Organizations need to be much more concerned with how users access their websites, so they can’t just expect everyone to use a desktop or laptop, so they need to be able to support mobile browsing.

A Note or Two on E-mailing and CMD/CMC*
*CMD–Computer Mediated Discourse
-or-
CMC–Computer Mediated Communication

A good friend of mine, a software sales person, has very specific guidelines for the employees he supervises:

  • Keep them short
  • Change the Reply Subject to something more accurate
  • Make them correct so the reader isn’t confused
  • Use e-mail when appropriate…let’s discuss

Is there a difference between how different genders participate more in cyberspace? In the early 2000s, there was quite a bit of talk about the “digital divide,” which focused on how white middle-to-upper class males used the internet the most. The feeling was that not having access to the internet would be detrimental to one’s chances for success. Because of the near ubiquity of mobile communication devices, this “divide” shrank; however, we learned during the pandemic that people had disproportionate access to reliable internet connections. I don’t think it’s beneficial to consider mere access as the standard for closing the digital divide. Homeless individuals have “access” to the internet. One’s phone is able to access the internet. What I would like you to reflect on is your level of access. Consider the ways you normally access the internet and for what purposes. For instance, I have lots of access:

  • Home computer (desktop with scanner, printer, and 27-inch monitor)
  • Office computer (laptop with docking station and two 27-inch monitors)
  • Mobile phone
  • Roku attached to my 50-inch plasma TV from 2009 (yes, this June that TV will be 14 years old, and it still works great…but I did replace my surround sound once)
  • Google Fiber–I really don’t know why I leave my house
  • As an aside, I love movies. Going to the movies was an almost weekly event before COVID-19; now, I honestly would rather stream stuff, and I pay plenty in monthly subscriptions. However, I would like to plug the Independent Picture House here in Charlotte.

The above ways I access the internet offer me advantages over those who only have mobile phone access and, even worse, wi-fi only mobile phone access. Moving to remote teaching wasn’t ideal because there’s more we can do face-to-face, but I had all the resources I needed to do it. I even bought a green screen! Also, I only had one 48-hour period in the past year where Google Fiber went down because of an outage, but I have a super fast connection. Therefore, we can say I have very reliable access to the internet and a variety of ways to access the internet for my work, social, and entertainment needs.

Anther aspect of the “digital divide” deals with gender differences. Again, back in the early 2000s, many researchers claimed that men used the internet more than women, and the differences were very pronounced globally and especially in developing countries. An essay in The Internet Encyclopedia (2004) titled “Gender and Internet Usage” by Ruby Roy Dholakia, Nikhilesh Dholakia, and Nir Kshetri noted the huge discrepancy of men’s and women’s internet usage in developing countries, but noted that there was more or less equal usage in the United States and Canada. However, they also pointed out that men’s and women’s behaviors online mimicked their offline behaviors. For instance, men and women made online purchases roughly equal to each other; however, “men report greater purchases of technical products online and women purchase more apparel” (p. 19). I wonder if this still holds true 19 years later. Consider your online purchases in the past year. What did you purchase the most? Here’s my rough estimate:

  • Technical products (computers, computer accessories, appliances): 60%
  • Books and media: 25%
  • Food: 10% (yes, I rarely ordered food online, and I never used a delivery service like DoorDash or GrubHub)
  • Apparel: 5% (but a friend sent me a t-shirt in the mail)

Blogs and IM/texting: I realize these are different things/activities, but I often think about them together. Maybe that’s just my peculiarity, but what do you think about the value (in terms of communication) for each?

Next Class

We’ll continue the discussion on information design by specifically covering visuals. Keep up with the reading and these webpages because everything is fair game for your Final Exam.

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