Designing (for) Ourselves and (for) Others

This presentation, by one of the best-known professors of technical communication in the U.S., traces how readers have been paid increasing attention, especially as they have become more active in text-making, rather than just text-reading. In particular, it talks about the rhetorical roles that readers assume in Web documents, and how those roles contribute to the success or failure of communication.

Coney, Mary B. EServer (2000). Presentations>Rhetoric>Streaming>Audio

The Implied Author in Technical Discourse  

The task of conveying technical information is usually taken to be the responsibility of the writer-researcher, aided possibly by editorial and supervisory reviews. And the test of success is usually understood to be a technically objective and accurate text, effectively presented to the intended reader. The subject of this paper is an inquiry into the existence of a fictitious personage, created by the writer-researcher, deliberately or not, to mediate between the author and the reader on the one side, and the author and the text on the other. If such a personage exists, the next question is whether this presence, often referred to as an implied author or 'second self' in literary studies, is an appropriate rhetorical device for technical discourse; whether it enhances or distorts the information transfer from writer to text to reader. Such questioning can, I believe, lead to a more refined understanding of the nature of technical discourse and its relation to the reality it addresses.

Coney, Mary B. JAC (1988). Articles>Rhetoric>TC

Role Playing on the Web: Guidelines for Designing and Evaluating Personas Online    

This article starts from the premise that humans communicate through a series of roles that they assume appropriate to their rhetorical purposes. Even when speaking face to face, they present a version of themselves that they deem suitable for the time, place, and situation. When this rhetorical principle is applied to Web design, it provides powerful insights and strategies for designing and evaluating online communication. We begin this article by tracing how the tradition of rhetorical role playing has become incorporated into the electronic medium. We then present a series of guidelines in the form of prompts or questions as starting points for effective Web design.

Coney, Mary B. and Michael Steehouder. Technical Communication Online (2000). Articles>Web Design

Technical Writing in the English Department: An Outside Perspective

During the last few years the growth of technical communication courses and programs in departments of English has been unprecedented. While this development has generally been viewed as healthy, not only for technical writing but for English departments themselves, the success of these courses and degree programs will depend on how well the administrations and faculties of the departments face up to a number of problems. What follows is an effort to identify these problems and suggest possible solutions.

Coney, Mary B., Judith A. Ramey and James W. Souther. ADE Bulletin (1984). Academic>Education>Writing>Technical Writing