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 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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