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

Resources and Daily Activities

  • Dr. Toscano’s Homepage
  • ENGL 2116-083: Introduction to Technical Communication
    • ENGL 2116 sec. 083 Major Assignments (Summer 2020)
      • Final Portfolio Requirements
      • Oral Presentations
    • June 11th: Continue with I, Robot
    • June 15th: Ethics and Perspective Discussion
      • Ethical Dilemmas for Homework
      • Ethical Dilemmas to Ponder
      • Mapping Our Personal Ethics
    • June 16th: More on Ethics
    • June 1st: Effective Documents for Users
    • June 2nd: Final Project and Research Discussion
      • Epistemology and Other Fun Research Ideas
      • Making Résumés and Cover Letters Better
      • Research
    • June 3rd: Technology in a Social Context
    • June 8th: Information Design and Visuals
    • June 9th: Proposals, Marketing, and Rhetoric
    • May 18th: Introduction to the course
    • May 19th: Critical Technological Awareness
    • May 20th: Audience, Purpose, and General Introduction
    • May 21st: Résumé Stuff
      • Making Résumés and Cover Letters More Effective
      • Peter Profit’s Cover Letter
    • May 25th: More Resume Stuff
    • May 26th: Plain Language and Prose Revision
      • Euphemisms
      • Prose Practice for Next Class
      • Prose Revision Assignment
      • Revising Prose: Efficiency, Accuracy, and Good
      • Sentence Clarity
    • May 27th: More on Plain Language
    • May 28th: Review Prose Revision
  • 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
    • Efficiency in Writing Reviews
    • February 3rd: I’m in Love with the Shape of You(r Sentences)
    • January 20th: Introduction to the Course
    • January 27th: Rhetoric, Words, and Composing
    • Major Assignments for ENGL 4183/5183 (Spring 2021)
  • 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 4750-090 & ENGL 5050-092 Video Games & Culture
    • Assignments for Video Games & Culture
    • August 25th: Introduction to the Course
    • November 10th: Aggression & Addiction
    • November 3rd: Moral Panics and Health Risks
    • October 13th: Narrative, ludology, f(r)iction
    • October 20th: Serious Games
    • October 27: Risky Business?
    • October 6th: Hyperreality
    • September 1st: History of Video Games
    • September 22nd: Video Game Aesthetics
    • September 29th: (sub)Cultures and Video Games
    • September 8th: Defining Video Games and Critical Theory Introduction
      • Marxism for Video Game Analysis
      • Postmodernism for Video Game Analysis
  • ENGL 6166: Rhetorical Theory
    • April 13th: Umberto Eco & Jean Baudrillard
    • April 20th: Moving Forward on Theory
    • April 27th: Last Day of Class
    • April 6th: Lyotard’s The Postmodern Condition
      • What is Postmodernism?
    • February 10th: St. Augustine, On Christian Doctrine [Rhetoric]
      • Oratory and Argument Analysis
    • February 17th: Knoblauch on Magical and Ontological Rhetoric
    • February 24th: Rene Descartes’ Discourse on Method
    • February 3rd: Aristotle’s On Rhetoric Books 2 and 3
      • Aristotle’s On Rhetoric, Book 2
      • Aristotle’s On Rhetoric, Book 3
    • January 13th: Introduction to Class
    • January 27th: Aristotle’s On Rhetoric Book 1
    • March 16th: Friedrich Nietzsche
    • March 23rd: Mythologies and Meaning of Meaning (part 2)
    • March 30th: Derrida’s (refusal to have) Positions
    • March 9th: Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Women
    • Rhetorical Theory Assignments
  • 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/HTAS 2100: Science, Technology, and Society
    • December 10th: Violence in Video Games
    • December 15th: Video Games and Violence, a more nuanced view
    • December 1st: COVID-19 facial covering rhetoric
    • December 3rd: COVID-19 Transmission and Pandemics
    • December 8th: 500-word Essay
    • November 10th: Planet of the Apes. (1964) Ch. 27-end
    • November 12th: Frankenstein (1818) Preface-Ch. 8
    • November 17th: Frankenstein (1818) Ch. 9-Ch. 16
    • November 19th: Frankenstein (1818) Ch. 17-Ch. 24
    • November 3rd: Planet of the Apes. (1964) Ch. 1-17
    • November 5th: Planet of the Apes (1964) Ch. 18-26
    • October 13th: Collins & Pinch’s The Golem at Large (Technology), Ch. 5 and 6
    • October 15th: Collins & Pinch’s The Golem at Large (Technology), Ch. 7 and Conclusion
    • October 1st: The Golem at Large Introduction & Ch. 1
    • October 22nd: The Time Machine
    • October 29th: H.G. Wells and Adaptations
    • October 6th: Collins & Pinch’s The Golem at Large (Technology) Ch. 2
    • October 8th: Collins & Pinch’s The Golem at Large (Technology), Ch. 3 & 4
    • September 10th: Science and Technology, a Humanistic Approach
    • September 15th: Collins & Pinch’s The Golem (Science), Ch. 2
    • September 17th: Collins & Pinch’s The Golem (Science), Ch. 3 and 4
    • September 22nd: Collins & Pinch Ch. 5 & 6
    • September 24th: Collins & Pinch Ch. 7 & Conclusion
    • September 29th: Test 1
    • September 8th: Introduction to Class
  • New Media: Gender, Culture, Technology (Spring 2021)
    • 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
  • 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
    • American Culture, an Introduction
    • Feminism, An Introduction
    • Frankenstein Part I
    • Frankenstein Part II
    • Futurism Introduction
    • Langdon Winner Summary: The Politics of Technology
    • Marxist Theory (cultural analysis)
    • Oral Presentations
    • 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

Contact Me

Office: Fretwell 280F
Phone: 704.687.0613
Email: atoscano@uncc.edu
ENGL 4182/5182: Information Design & Digital Publishing » September 25th: Page Design

September 25th: Page Design

Announcements

  • Citizen Jane: Battle for the City
    Thur., 9/28 (6:00 pm-8:00 pm)
    UNC Charlotte Center City
  • IFest: International Festival (this is quite a good time)
    Sat., 10/14 (all day)

    Barnhardt Student Activity Center

Plan for the Day

We’ve got a few things to do today, so below is a list:

  • 5182 Projects and Leading Class Discussion (let’s talk at the end of class)
  • Effective Repetition: ethos, pathos, logos
  • Chapter 3 in Design for Information
  • Page Design
  • Chapter 5 in The Non-Designer’s Design Book
  • Possible Photoshop Lesson on Extracting Images
  • Bring in typefaces in for after the Midterm Exam (or, at least, be able to point to them on 10/16)
  • Document #2 Workshop 
  • Midterm Review (time permitting)
  • Document #1 issues

Ethos, Pathos, Logos

Before we go any farther, let’s read over the questions on p. 67 about ethos, pathos, and logos. Also, I want to remind you that a goal of this course is for you to recognize your biases and how you construct meaning or allow certain appeals to persuade you. We’re approaching from a cultural studies point of view, so personal tastes and convictions have to be scrutinized as just that–personal. Those tastes and convictions are not generalizable or universal.

I have a brochure to look at that will help us think about these appeals. Open the NPIC “Pets and Pesticide Use” fact sheet. It’ll open as a pdf. Of course, the appeals are below:

  • Ethos: appeal or presentation of one’s character or credibility…try not to get emotional about character! Get it?
  • Pathos: appeal to emotions; evoking emotional responses in the audience.
  • Logos: appeals to logic; facts in a message. Remember, logic is a formal study and not the whims, quirks, or assumptions of an individual. For instance, claiming, “that’s the logic I used to get to my conclusions” really has nothing to do with the formal study of logic: it’s a synonym for process in the above sentence.

The above modes of persuasion often work together in messages. In order to fully understand these modes, however, I’m asking you to be very specific in how you explain these appeals.

Time permitting, we’ll discuss the following webpages:

  • AARP–Medicare Part D
  • Kick Butts Day

Something I came across and wanted to ask you about a particular graphic…

Design for Information Ch. 3

As you’re no doubt aware, this book is big on images and sparse on prose, so it’s quick to read but takes a bit to process. Speaking of time, did you hear the one about Father Time and his son Justin…

  • What communication situation does the visualization on p. 82 solve?
  • p. 83: “Lakoff and Johnson explain that…most idioms emerge from our concepts of ‘containers’ and ‘moving objects.'”
    • “Events and actions are correlated with bounded time spans, and this makes them ‘container objects.'”
  • p. 84: Measuring time is an agreed upon convention.
  • p. 86: “Stephen Jay Gould explains…’history is an irreversible sequence of unrepeatable events.'”
  • “Time has no direction.”
  • However, “in the modern world there has been a predominance of the linear model when depicting historical time.”
  • p. 88: Tvertsky claims “The perceptual world has two dominant axes: a vertical axis defined by gravity and by all things on earth correlated with gravity; and a horizontal axis defined by the horizon and by all things on earth parallel to it.”
    • “In representations of time…the horizontal orientation is prevalent.”
    • “Literature in perception and cognition has shown that we tend to use the direction of our writing systems to order events over time.”
  • p. 96: We understand events diachronically (over time).
  • p. 97: Magic number 7…

Case Studies

  • pp. 98: Alfred Barr’s Diagram
  • pp. 98-99: Ward Shelley’s “Addendum to Alfred Barr, ver. 2”
  • What can we say about the ethos of this version? (scroll down a bit for a discussion here)
  • pp. 102-103: “Fifty Years of Space Exploration” (need Flash plugin)
  • p. 108: Compare the “Diagram of the Chronology of Life and Geology” with the following
  • Image 1
  • Image 2
  • Image 3
  • Image 4

Page Design

So how do we get into a discussion on “viewing pages” of all topics? In some ways it’s quite similar to our previous discussions, but I think we need to focus on how an audience consumes a document. Here’s a quote from Kimball & Hawkins’s Document Design:

“page design is the process of placing design objects such as text, headings, and images consistently and effectively on the page, taking into account the actual visual field, the characteristics of the design objects, and the relationships implied among them by the principles of design” (p. 115).

  • Consider the translations and technology changes for ancient texts
    • Aristotle’s work…in 1566!
    • What Aristotle’s word might have looked like when first found.
      • No, I’m not an expert in papyrology, so don’t think I have any last word.
    • A slideshow from the Wall Street Journal
  • How do users read texts?
    • Skim: looking for something in a document to catch your eye
    • Scan: looking at a document for particular information
    • Read: committing to the text
  • Hierarchy and Balance
    • Coretta Scott King
    • Rosa Parks
  • Symmetry or Asymmetry
    • Sotheby’s
    • GEO-Metric
  • Note on balance:
    • When considering if a design is balanced, you are interpreting the relative visual weight of objects on a document horizontally and vertically.
    • Balance
  • Watch your eyes!
    • saccades: quick eye movements
    • fixations: fixing one’s glance on something (or obsession, but that’s not an information design issue…or is it?)
  • The benefits of columns and power zones
    • Top and Right-hand side of a page
    • Thinking Maps
    • Harriet Tubman
  • 7-12 words per line for columns
  • Analogy: Points are to picas as inches are to ________.
    1 inch = 6 picas = 72 points
  • Breaking the grid / Breaking the grid
    • Legacy Magazine

What else can we say?

Chapter 5: Contrast

Now that you’ve read chapters 1-5 and most of 8 in The Non-Designer’s Design Book, you’re probably getting a feel for the author’s design agenda. What do you think drives her design decisions? Talk about that amongst yourselves for a little bit. There’s no right or wrong answer (although there could be goofy answers), but please have some evidence (from the book) about what you believe her design agenda to be.

The web and dark backgrounds…what’s your take?

Document #2 Workshop

You will have a chance to do these after next week’s Midterm Exam. I wanted to preview them now. If you’re done with Document #2 or don’t want to work on it here, move on to the Midterm Assignments below. These are webpage requirements, but they do not need to be finished the night of the midterm. Fit them in when you can:

Picture Frame:

I want you to create an InDesign document on your own with help from this tutorial. You’ll be creating a “Picture Frame” that you will link to from your homepage.

Easy Logo:

Also, you need to create a logo using Photoshop. I have this tutorial up here but will put up the rest of the tutorial later.

You may also work quietly on your Document #2–Advertisement and Flyer. Please have others look at your designs, but, of course, please be quiet while others are taking the midterm. On October 8th, you’ll have a more formal workshop where I’ll ask you to comment on a fellow classmate’s document. Look at the assignments page for more details.

Document #1 General Issues

I haven’t finished commenting on all of your Business Cards and Letterheads, but I noticed some patterns and wanted to provide some general, overall comments. These are pretty good designs for the most part. Remember, I’m not going to overemphasize the product, but I do expect carefully planned documents. I grade across the semester, so you might want to revisit the syllabus’s definition of A, B, C, D, and F grades.

More importantly, however, I would like for you to understand why you’re making the choices you make. You really need to use your memos to explain how your choices communicate your documents’ messages. Many of you did a good job explaining perception and your document–how readers/users where supposed to navigate your design–but all of you need to focus on cultural and, of course, rhetorical aspects of your designs. Risk being too obvious, and use terms like ethos, pathos, and logos if they apply. Every single memo should have the phrase “[This design choice] conveys an ethos of __________.” Don’t forget to also prove that.

Many of you are just doing surface observations of your work and a few of you are using vague terms like “professional” or “powerful” without explicitly bringing out any cultural explanations. Please be specific in your future documents (and revisions) about why you feel a certain feature works the way you think. Remember, I’m also trying to get you to not rely on pet peeves, tastes, and convictions. Give my some proof, or make an argument. I’m likely to hold the same “self-evident” truths you have and operate under the same nebulous “common sense” assumptions for many design choices, but I want more explanation. Remember, the analysis you do on your documents is the most important component of this class; learning to make things pretty is secondary to critical thinking.

On a different note, please remember to be consistent with your business card and letterhead designs. Look for the following:

  • Capitalization
  • Colors: green or #009940 (See the difference?)
  • Font style (aka. typeface)
  • Order of elements
  • Punctuation

Also, it’s ok to use Times New Roman and Arial typefaces, but you really need to explain why. Williams has a negative view of those typefaces, so, if you use them and don’t explain why they enhance your message, it’s a sign you aren’t reading. The same goes for centering your designs–why do you go against her good advice? Calibri and Verdana could also be considered overused. In fact, Verdana is really only for webpages and not for printed out documents. We’ll get to that later this semester. It’s good to break rules and conventions, but you need to be conscious of why; otherwise, it’s a distracting mistake.

Midterm Preview

This page and back to the beginning of the semester. all the reading form both textbooks. Class discussions. Ethos, pathos, logos.

Bonus Assignments for 5182 Students

I want to talk to the 5182 group about their bonus assignments, so those of you enrolled in 4182 aren’t responsible for these. Check out the Assignments Page–Leading Class Discussion and Bibliographic Essay.

Next Class

MIDTERM!!! I know you’re as excited as I am about the midterm, but it’s late, so I understand if your enthusiasm is subdued. After you finish the Midterm next week, please work quietly on Document #2. I will also have a webpage assignment for you, so no, you may not leave immediately after the Midterm. I’ll be giving you Monday (10/09) and Tuesday (10/10) off, so you’ll be fresh and ready for the next class (10/16), which is when Document #2 is due.

Keep up with the reading. We’ll discuss Ch. 4 in Design for Information and Ch. 6 in The Non-Designer’s Design Book on 10/16.

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