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

Resources and Daily Activities

  • Conference Presentations
    • 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
    • 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
  • 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 24th: Introduction to the Class
    • August 31st: Rhetoric, Words, and Composing
    • Major Assignments for ENGL 4183/5183 (Fall 2022)
      • Rhetoric of Fear
    • November 16th: Voice and Other Nebulous Writing Terms
      • Finding Dominant Rhetorical Appeals
    • November 2nd: Rhetorical Effects of Punctuation
    • November 30th: Words and Word Classes
    • November 9th: Cohesive Rhythm
    • October 12th: Choosing Adjectivals
    • October 19th: Choosing Nominals
    • October 26th: Stylistic Variations
    • October 5th: Midterm Exam
    • September 14th: Verb is the Word!
    • September 21st: Coordination and Subordination
    • September 28th: Form and Function
    • September 7th: 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
    • 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 7th: Fascism Part 3
  • LBST 2212-124, 125, 126, & 127
    • August 21st: Introduction to Class
    • August 23rd: Humanistic Approach to Science Fiction
    • August 26th: Robots and Zombies
    • August 28th: Futurism, an Introduction
    • August 30th: R. A. Lafferty “Slow Tuesday Night” (1965)
    • December 2nd: Technological Augmentation
    • December 4th: Posthumanism
    • November 11th: Salt Fish Girl (Week 2)
    • November 13th: Salt Fish Girl (Week 2 con’t)
    • November 18th: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Part 1)
      • More Questions than Answers
    • November 1st: Games Reality Plays (part II)
    • November 20th: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Part 2)
    • November 6th: Salt Fish Girl (Week 1)
    • October 14th: More Autonomous Fun
    • October 16th: Autonomous Conclusion
    • October 21st: Sci Fi in the Domestic Sphere
    • October 23rd: Social Aphasia
    • October 25th: Dust in the Wind
    • October 28th: Gender Liminality and Roles
    • October 2nd: Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein
    • October 30th: Games Reality Plays (part I)
    • October 9th: Approaching Autonomous
      • Analyzing Prose in Autonomous
    • September 11th: The Time Machine
    • September 16th: The Alien Other
    • September 18th: Post-apocalyptic Worlds
    • September 20th: Dystopian Visions
    • September 23rd: World’s Beyond
    • September 25th: Gender Studies and Science Fiction
    • September 30th: Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein
    • September 4th: Science Fiction and Social Breakdown
      • More on Ellison
      • More on Forster
    • September 9th: The Time Machine
  • 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 in American Culture (Summer I–2020)
    • Assignments for Science Fiction in American Culture
    • Cultural Studies and Science Fiction Films
    • June 10th: Interstellar and Exploration themes
    • June 11th: Bicentennial Man
    • June 15th: I’m Only Human…Or am I?
    • June 16th: Wall-E and Environment
    • June 17th: Wall-E (2008) and Technology
    • June 18th: Interactivity in Video Games
    • June 1st: Firefly (2002) and Myth
    • June 2nd: “Johnny Mnemonic”
    • June 3rd: “New Rose Hotel”
    • June 4th: “Burning Chrome”
    • June 8th: Conformity and Monotony
    • June 9th: Cultural Constructions of Beauty
    • May 18th: Introduction to Class
    • May 19th: American Culture, an Introduction
    • May 20th: The Matrix
    • May 21st: Gender and Science Fiction
    • May 25th: Goals for I, Robot
    • May 26th: Isaac Asimov’s I, Robot
    • May 27th: Hackers and Slackers
    • May 30th: Inception
  • Teaching Portfolio
  • Topics for Analysis
    • A Practical Editing Situation
    • American Culture, an Introduction
    • Efficiency in Writing Reviews
    • Feminism, An Introduction
    • Fordism/Taylorism
    • Frankenstein Part I
    • Frankenstein Part II
    • Futurism Introduction
    • How to Lie with Statistics
    • 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 4275: Rhetoric of Technology » January 27th: Discussion on Writing as Thinking

January 27th: Discussion on Writing as Thinking

Plan for the Day

  • Check Syllabus’s Attendance Section
  • Wrap-up on Winner if needed (January 22nd)
  • Writing and Reflecting: Discussion on writing as thinking
  • Discuss Technology and Yourself, a Reflective Essay Draft
    DUE next week: Monday, 2/03

Winner’s Great Observation

Let’s discuss the validity of Winner’s argument that we let technology control us because we’re amenable to hierarchy…we just pick and choose which we’re comfortable with and which we’re not. Great observation:

“In our times people are often willing to make drastic changes in the way they live to accomodate technological innovation while at the same time resisting similar kinds of changes justified on political grounds” (p. 39).

  • What do you think? If we assume Winner is addressing freedom–after all, he just got finished discussing hierachy and authoritarianism–what technologies do we accept that, in effect, reduce our freedoms?
  • What does he mean by the statement that we resist similar changes on political grounds?
  • If no technology can exist without being compatible with “the system,” what, then, is THE system?

Writing and Reflecting

Many professors try to ignore the artificiality of the classroom and ask students to write for an audience other than them. It’s futile to think that students have anyone other than the professor (and his or her essay guidelines) in mind when writing. I’ll go round for round with anyone who thinks otherwise (that statement is for those out there beyond this class who still pretend that their students actually conceive of an audience other than the professor for class assignments). Therefore, we’re not going to pretend you’re writing for any other reason than to get a grade. However, the discussion will help you beyond this classroom.

Audience and Purpose

Don’t let anyone tell you any differently: The two most important considerations for any communication situation are Audience and Purpose. Yes, “purpose” assumes context. In order for your writing to be effective, you must communicate in the appropriate way to the intended audience (or audiences—primary, secondary, tertiary). You must have an intended audience (but know that you could have multiple audiences). You must also realize a purpose for writing: why are you communicating? That assumes a goal. The most well-crafted prose that is aimed at an inappropriate audience and with an unclear purpose is ineffective communication.

Writing as Thinking

Writing is a map of one’s thinking. As you write, you’re composing more than just prose—words on a page. You’re also refining your thinking about a topic. I’ve been studying the composing process for quite some time (my own and students’ processes). This activity and the others are not the end-all-be-all of writing instruction. A goal for these Writing Intensive courses is to incorporate writing and reflection on writing throughout a student’s college career. I’ll give you a little background about how I developed my approach to writing and teaching writing.

Although it’s important to have grammatically correct writing, we’re not going to focus on that in these discussions. We’re going to talk about style and content, which can be stifled by an assumption that writing is about correctness. I’ll say it once or twice this semester: No one fetishizes grammatically correct sentences. People write to convey ideas, support their ideas, and persuade others about their ideas. Of course, they also write to entertain, inspire, instruct, and communicate, but we’ll focus on the essay in this class, and that genre is about making sound, logical arguments that have proof to back them up.

Before we get too far along, let’s look at the requirements for your first essay: Technology and yourself, a reflective essay.

Focus on Adding Proof to the Pudding

Below is an excerpt from Winner (p. 25). We’re going to examine this to determine how we can add proof to the assertions he’s made. Remember, there are all kinds of writing genres. There’s no single format (or formula) for the essay genre, but proof, evidence, and sound arguments are vital to its effectiveness.

To recognize the political dimensions in the shapes of technology does not require that we look for conscious conspiracies or malicious intentions. The organized movement of handicapped people in the United States during the 1970s pointed out the countless ways in which machines, instruments, and structures of common use—buses, building, sidewalks, plumbing fixtures, and so forth—made it impossible for many handicapped persons to move freely about, a condition that systematically excluded them from public life. It is safe to say that designs unsuited for the handicapped arose more from long-standing neglect than from anyone’s active intention. But once the issue was brought to public attention, it became evident that justice required a remedy. A whole range of artifacts have been redesigned and rebuilt to accommodate this minority. (Winner, p. 25)

The above passage is an example of good writing. As part of a larger work (a book) it fits nicely into Winner’s discussion for both the 2nd chapter and the entire book. It would not be consider “complete” for a 7-10 page essay. Why?

*For starters, it doesn’t offer much proof. It assumes the audience understands the social situation regarding handicapped individuals in pre-Americans with Disabilities Act eras. Winner doesn’t need to go into detail because he assumes his audience understands the topic. You can get away with that in a book because you have to pick and choose what to go into great detail about and, generally, it’s assumed your audience is familiar with the ideas and examples you could use. Naturally, you’re going to shortchange some things over others in any writing. The goal is to pick and choose wisely to have more effective writing.

*Essays that you write require proof, and you want to strive to have no loose ends. I hesitate to say “assume I know nothing about the topic” because that’s not accurate (although it will be for some topics). In your essays, you should focus on supporting all you claims with good examples. Choose your topics wisely, and aim for explaining a smaller topic in greater detail than trying to cover a broader topic in less detail.

*Aim for reader-based prose: that’s a writing style where you take the reader through your discussion to your conclusions, and you don’t make the reader “jump” to your conclusions without a proper bridge.

Revisions for an Essay

Let’s try to find out ways to revise this for an essay that requires proof. Don’t get bogged down on correctness concerns (grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc.); instead, think about ideas that will support Winner’s assertion. Consider the above paragraph to be a shell, and evidence is going to fill that shell.

The following Outline might help visualize Winner’s structure and main points:

I. Topic sentence: “To recognize the political dimensions in the shapes of technology does not require that we look for conscious conspiracies or malicious intentions.”

[The rest of this paragraph discusses handicapped issues. Based on Winner’s ideas, what are the potential forces that shape technology? List the forces, and give examples that prove those forces may shape technology.]

II. Activism of Handicapped people in the US in the 1970s

  1. Technologies ignore the conditions people with disabilities face/encounter
  2. Buildings aren’t constructed to accommodate people with disabilities
  3. The built environment prohibits citizens with disabilities from more fully participating in society

[We can all probably agree with the above statement, but we need proof. In what ways are people with disabilities politically active—big ‘P’ Politics—and how are people with disabilities affected by the built environment?]

III. The conditions people with disabilities face is ignored by those without disabilities

[How so? Theoretically why? Think socially. Remember, Winner wrote this in the mid-1980s, so you probably will have to guess what changes have occurred or reflect upon old buildings and technologies that you’re familiar with.]

IV. Once the exclusion of people with disabilities was brought to the attention of the mainstream, the public was sensitive and willing to remedy the situation.

[How so? What examples prove the above statement?]

V. Artifacts have been designed to accommodate people with disabilities by making social participation easier.

[What are these artifacts? Are they simply programmed or engineered, or are there values embodied in these artifacts?]

I’m fully aware that some of the above points can be (ful)filled with the same evidence.

Disclaimer: The above outline looks like a 5-paragraph essay format. There are some serious reservations to the 5-paragraph essay, and, time permitting, we’ll discuss those (* See discussion below). For our purposes, though, you should focus on the fact that providing sound reasoning for assertions is imperative for any essay you write.

Group work on Filling in the Shell

As I mentioned, the above excerpt from Winner is a shell. There are 6 rows, but there are probably only 5 rows with students, so let’s have each row take a roman numeral . Discuss the entire paragraph but come up with support for your group’s particular roman numeral.

Row 1 = I
Row 2 = II
Row 3 = III
Row 4 = IV
Row 5 = V

Writing Workshop

All of you need to have some kind of printed draft of your essay today. You will all be “called on” in a sense because, without a draft, you’ll lose In-class participation points. We’ll do peer reviews, but we’re going to discuss the drafts and help provide ideas for how to explain your point of view. Professors often lie to students and tell them that personal feelings and opinions can’t be wrong (see Postmodernism discussion at the bottom of the page); unfortunately, they can be. In the context I’ve asked you to consider, if your feelings or opinions aren’t based on sound, logical proof, they’re wrong, or you’re not explaining why you reach the conclusions you reach. Aim for reader-based prose and not writer-based prose. The reader isn’t in your head with ALL the same assumptions you have, so you can’t expect they will “just get it.”

The Five-Paragraph Essay Controversy

I’ve already explained the gist of this, but I have a further disclaimer to provide more context about what is and is not effective writing. Remember, any communication that doesn’t adhere to audience expectations or has a clear purpose will most likely be ineffective, especially in professional contexts (this is a Technical/Professional Writing course). Consider this disclaimer alongside our discussions of technologies being neutral: The appropriateness of the five-paragraph essay depends on the context, and it’s a limited context in my opinion.

The five-paragraph essay (sometimes called the three-point-five paragraph essay) is a nearly ubiquitous model of for high school essays. Fortunately, it has fallen out of popularity in college composition courses because following a writing format has proven to be stifling to student expression. When asked to follow a format like the five-paragraph essay, students often focus on filling in the “necessary” slots instead of reflecting on what they want to communicate. Just as students are stifled by focusing too much on issues of correctness, formats for (or modes of) writing also stifle reflection and creativity because they constrain writers. Worrying about rules takes attention away from thinking about higher-order concerns: ideas, organization, audience, and purpose.

But isn’t a blank page just a stifling for students who don’t know where to begin? Yes. Five-paragraph essay outlines (or any outlines) can be helpful pre-writing as thinking, a place to organize one’s ideas to be more confident about one’s purpose. Personally, I outline any writing over five pages. Full disclosure: I think that contributes to my writing being longer than it should, but that’s also an editing issue…but this isn’t about me, so we’ll ignore that.

The above I, II, III, IV, and V points aren’t meant to be for an entire essay; instead, they’re instructions for an activity on adding proof, using evidence to support or just explain claims. The traditional five-paragraph essay has an Intro, Point 1, Point 2, Point 3, and a Conclusion. That type of structure is fine for some students who can benefit from some structure when they’re not sure how to begin. After all, what professor will allow the student to skip the assignment because he or she just didn’t know where to begin? I’m waiting…

In conclusion, the five-paragraph essay has some merits, but, for college-level writing, it is too stifling a format.

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