Diverging Interests: Claims to Legitimacy in Technical Communication

As technical communication becomes more firmly established as a field, those in the discipline of technical communication and those in the profession are finding, sometimes to their surprise, that their interests differ. This difference is reflected in the varying claims to legitimacy made by those in professional practice and those in academia. These claims to legitimacy not only differ, but at times seem to be at odds with one another.

Anderson, Ginger. Michigan Tech University (1998). Articles>TC>Professionalism

Diverging Interests: Claims to Legitimacy in Technical Communication

As technical communication becomes more firmly established as a field, those in the discipline of technical communication and those in the profession are finding, sometimes to their surprise, that their interests differ. This difference is reflected in the varying claims to legitimacy made by those in professional practice and those in academia. These claims to legitimacy not only differ, but at times seem to be at odds with one another. My interest in these diverging legitimacy claims rests in my dual existence as a professional technical writer and as a graduate student in rhetoric and technical communication. I come to technical communication theory both as a technical communicator who wants to teach technical communication and as a technical communication consultant who wonders how theory can inform her own practice. Having read Technical Communication for years as a practitioner, I was initially surprised to see the difference between technical communication practice and scholarship, as reflected in the types of research that constitute the current conversation in academic technical communication.

Anderson, Ginger. Michigan Tech University (1998). Articles>TC>Theory

Reflections of a GTA on the Teaching of Technical Writing

Though I have a degree in technical communication and have worked as a technical writer for four years, I still had no idea what should be taught in a technical writing classroom, or how one should go about teaching it. Before I ventured into the arena as an instructor, I wanted to find out what goes on in a technical writing classroom. Two types of practical research that I thought would provide some insight into technical writing instruction were: an observation of different technical communication classrooms; and a survey of various textbooks available for technical communication courses.

Anderson, Ginger. Michigan Tech University (1998). Articles>Education>TC>Technical Writing