Visual rhetoric is the study of how document design (including the use of illustrations, charts and graphs, typography and layout) communicate, as opposed to aural or verbal messages. Visual rhetoric examines also the relationship between images and writing.
#27341
Remember that writers are, by training and disposition, attracted to people and places with interesting names.
Clark, Roy Peter. Poynter Online (2004). Articles>Writing>Rhetoric
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What makes a page-turner, an irresistible read, a story or book that you can't put down? Well, lots of things. But one indispensable tool seems to be the internal cliffhanger.
Clark, Roy Peter. Poynter Online (2004). Articles>Writing>Rhetoric
#31251
Internal Communication: Let's Be Clear
Internal communication isn't generally seen as a direct, short-term contributor to the bottom line, and therefore it is not considered "hot." More to the point though, people's understanding of what communication is and how it can work is extremely varied and often plain wrong. It seems that what makes internal communication "hot" is still mainly understood only in professional communication circles.
Bogaard, Lindsay. Communication World Bulletin (2007). Articles>Business Communication>Rhetoric
#15237
International Visual Literacy Association
IVLA is a not-for-profit association of educators, artists, and researchers dedicated to the principles of visual literacy. IVLA was formed for the purpose of providing education, instruction and training in modes of visual communication and the application through the concept of visual literacy to individuals, groups, organizations, and to the public in general. Our members represent a wide range of disciplines including the arts, sciences, education, communication, business, videography, photography, instructional technology, health, and computer applications. We hope you will feel free to join us in the lively debates of our field, and we look forward to forming lasting professional and personal friendships.
International Visual Literacy Association. Organizations>Graphic Design>Rhetoric>Visual Rhetoric
#13981
An Interpersonal Approach To Writing Negative Messages 
Writing negative messages is one of the most difficult tasks facing business communicators. Because we usually find saying “no” harder than saying 'yes,” and because refusing a request often is interpreted by a reader as personal rejection, most writers know enough to approach the task of writing negative messages with some degree of caution. Recently I spent all of five minutes writing a note to a job applicant, telling her that she had been hired for an opening. I spent almost ten times as long composing the letter sent to the applicants who did not receive the job offer.
Salerno, Douglas. JAC (1986). Articles>Rhetoric>Writing
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Interpretation Within Audience Analysis Theories and the Crusade for True Empiricism
Audience analysis frameworks do not address an important aspect of communication in writer/audience relationships. This element is the humanistic aspect of cognitive processing, which encompasses emotional and cultural aspects. These elements exist on behalf of the writer as well as the reader, which without taking either into account lead us to a less than full understanding of how we can progress in our studies around this issue. We continue to study and theorize about how to improve interactions between writer and audience. Although current theories seem to add considerations important in the audience analysis process and the writer/audience relationship, there remains a need to find ways to address the truly empirical aspects of human interpretation.
Wolfe, Melissa. Orange Journal, The (2001). Articles>Rhetoric>Theory>Audience Analysis
#15070
An Introduction to Genre Theory
The word genre comes from the French (and originally Latin) word for 'kind' or 'class'. The term is widely used in rhetoric, literary theory, media theory, and more recently linguistics, to refer to a distinctive type of 'text'*. Robert Allen notes that 'for most of its 2,000 years, genre study has been primarily nominological and typological in function. That is to say, it has taken as its principal task the division of the world of literature into types and the naming of those types - much as the botanist divides the realm of flora into varieties of plants. However, the analogy with biological classification into genus and species misleadingly suggests a 'scientific' process.
Chandler, Daniel. University of Wales, Aberystwyth (1997). Articles>Rhetoric>Theory
#31980
Introduction to the Forum on Meaning/ful Work Studies in Organizational Communication 
On the first day of Nikki's undergraduate seminar, Organizing Work, she Oasks students to list the idioms and phrases commonly used to make sense of the 'work' experience. She shares the example of her father repeat- edly using the phrase 'daily grind' when she was growing up (important to note, he was not referring to the ubiquitous Starbucks of today). Slowly but surely, the chalkboard fills with an array of idiomatic expressions: 'on the clock,' 'work like a dog,' 'all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy,' 'work your fingers to the bone,' 'all in a day's work,' and a host of others, including the Marxian favorite, 'a fair day's pay for a fair day's work.' Students are asked to reflect on the meanings embedded within the list and how language constitutes cultural meanings and values of work. As such an exercise should make abundantly clear, work and meaning would seem to be central to our study of organizational communication. Our talk about work both embodies and structures individual and social under- standings, attitudes, and actions. Yet, the meanings associated with work and the notion of work as meaningful have not been foci of study within our dis- cipline. Indeed, the term work is not even indexed in the New Handbook of Organizational Communication (Jablin and Putnam, 2001), and a search of the EBSCO database found not a single article with work and either meaning or meaningful in the title in a communication journal. Given contemporary devel- opments that make work more central to people's lives as well as less secure, the question of what work means to people and how such meanings contribute to or detract from a sense of purpose or dignity in people's lives is important to consider.
Zorn, Theodore E. and Nikki Townsley. Management Communication Quarterly (2008). Articles>Business Communication>Organizational Communication>Rhetoric
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An Introduction to Visual Communication 
A reader's overall comprehension is best when text is appropriately combined with graphics in a document. This introductory workshop on visual communications explores different leaning styles and information mediums and examines how a communicator can best combine words with graphics to increase reader interest and comprehension. The workshop also examines basic rules of text and graphic design and finally discusses the appropriate integration of text and graphics.
Chiricosta, Tracey C. and Alice A. Jones. STC Proceedings (1993). Design>Document Design>Visual Rhetoric
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An Introduction to Visualisation
Visualising things makes them tangible and brings them into shareable form. Visualisation brings ideas to life and helps understanding. Visualisation techniques help elicit, communicate and analyse ideas and concepts.
Joe, Phillip. Design Council (2005). Articles>Graphic Design>Technical Illustration>Visual Rhetoric
#13971
The Irony Game: Assessing a Writer's Adaptation to an Opponent
The study of composition processes describes what writers do. The study of the art of composition describes methods for giving writers better control over what they do. This essay makes a contribution to both research concerns. It contributes to the study of composition processes by describing what ironists do when they refute an opponent. It contributes to the study of the art of composition by offering methods for giving writers better control over the adaptive strategies they use when attempting refutations.
Kaufer, David S. and Christine M. Neuwirth. JAC (1981). Articles>Rhetoric>Writing
#30859
Is Copyright Blind to the Visual?
This article argues that, with respect to the copyright protection of works of visual art, the general uneasiness that has always pervaded the relationship between copyright law and concepts of creativity produces three anomalous results. One of these is that copyright lacks much in the way of a central concept of 'visual art' and, to the extent that it embraces any concept of the 'visual', it is rooted in the rhetorical discourse of the Renaissance. This means that copyright is poorly equipped to deal with modern developments in the visual arts. Secondly, the pervasive effect of rhetorical discourse appears to have made it particularly difficult for copyright law to strike a meaningful balance between protecting creativity and permitting its use in further creative works. Thirdly, just when rhetorical discourse might have been useful in identifying the significance and materiality of the unique one-off work of visual art, copyright law chooses to ignore its implications.
Macmillan, Fiona. Visual Communication (2008). Articles>Intellectual Property>Copyright>Visual Rhetoric
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It's a People Thing: The Switch to Reader-Centered Documents
One of the central causes of poor writing is a lack of a thorough understanding of the audience. What are the problems that readers have to solve, and how can we help them? Too many writers believe that people will understand what they have written just because the writers themselves understand it. Good writing always begins with a study of the readers' reading skills, their actual physical situation, the problems they face, the motivation they need, and the actions they need to take.
DuBay, William H. Impact Information (2003). Articles>Writing>Rhetoric>User Centered Design
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JAC: The Journal of Advanced Composition
JAC provides a forum for scholars interested in theoretical approaches to the study of rhetoric, writing, multiple literacies, and the politics of difference. As a forum for interdisciplinary inquiry, the journal features articles that explore intersections between rhetoric and composition theory and theoretical work in other fields of study. Also featured are articles on workplace literacies, computers and writing, literature and writing, cultural studies and critical literacy, graduate education, and scholarly writing and publication. Articles that address important professional issues in composition studies, English studies, and higher education are also appropriate. JAC publishes articles on pedagogical theory but does not accept articles describing classroom practices unless those practices illustrate a pedagogical or critical theory.
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Joddy's Visual Rhetoric Bibliography
This is a working bibliography on visual rhetoric, visual studies, visual literacy, and anything concerning the image and writing.
Murray, Joddy. Morrismurray.net. Resources>Bibliographies>Rhetoric
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The Journal of Business and Technical Communication
The Journal of Business and Technical Communcation keeps you informed about the latest communication practices, problems and trends in both business and academic settings. It covers written, oral and electronic communication in all areas of business, science and government. Created over a decade ago to meet the growing demand for research and analysis in this expanding field, JBTC covers topics of fundamental interest and key issues such as: managerial communication; collaborative writing; ethics of business communication; technical writing pedagogy; business-communication education; gender differences in writing; international communication; graphic design; ethnography and corporate culture.
Journal of Business and Technical Communication. Journals>TC>Business Communication>Rhetoric
#10050
Kairos is a refereed online journal exploring the intersections of rhetoric, technology, and pedagogy. In Kairos, we publish 'webtexts,' which are texts authored specifically for publication on the World Wide Web. These webtexts include scholarly examinations of large-scale issues related to special topics, individual and collaborative reviews of books and media, news and announcements of interest, interactive exchanges about previous Kairos publications, and extended interviews with leading scholars. With Kairos, we seek to push boundaries in academic publishing at the same time we strive to bridge the gap between print and digital publishing cultures. We further seek to bring forward and support the voices of those too often marginalized in the academy, especially graduate students and adjunct and other part-time faculty.
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Kairos in the Rhetoric of Science
If there is a canonical text in this still-early period of the rhetorical criticism of science, it is the 1953 Nature paper in which James D. Watson and Francis H.C. Crick proposed the double helix structure for DNA.
Miller, Carolyn R. North Carolina State University (1992). Articles>Scientific Communication>Biomedical>Rhetoric
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Kairosnews is an open community of members interested in the intersections of rhetoric, technology and pedagogy. Visitors can create an account, submit a story, join in the many discussions by posting comments, or read the news gathered from other sites by our aggregator. Members can also subscribe to a daily email newsletter of updated site content.
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A collection of links to websites in rhetoric and technical communication.
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Karen A. Schriver: The InfoDesign interview
Karen Schriver is the author of Dynamics in Document Design: Creating texts for readers, an extensive, multidimensional portrait of what readers need from documents and of ways to integrate word and image in order to better meet those needs. She is the former co-director of the graduate program in technical communication and document design at Carnegie Mellon University. Her company, KSA Document Design and Research, helps organizations improve the quality of their paper and electronic communications through strategies based on research and best practices.
Bogaards, Peter J. InformationDesign (2005). Articles>Interviews>Document Design>Visual Rhetoric
#13923
Keeping the Rhetoric Orthodox: Forum Control in Science
Academic disciplines certify knowledge through publication in scholarly journals; therefore, peer review of journal articles is one method of authorizing someone’s speech. It is possible, however, to see peer review and other strategies as methods by which elites silence or de-authorize voices that pose a threat to their status. This article discusses four methods of forum control--peer review, denial of forum, public correction, and published ridicule. Examples are drawn from cases in science.
Sullivan, Dale L. Technical Communication Quarterly (2000). Articles>Scientific Communication>Rhetoric
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Language as Vision: The Ocularcentrism of Chomskyan Linguistics
References to vision pervade Chomsky’s work. They are a key component of the figures he uses, the examples he provides, the analogies he makes, and the argumentative warrants supporting his central claims. When dealing with opponents Chomsky repeatedly exploits the rhetorical potential of visual analogies and metaphors in order to construct rebuttals. References to vision and to spatio-visual phenomenon constitute a key component of the most characteristic rhetorical moves Chomsky makes, and are central to the way Chomsky defines the project of linguistics. From Syntactic Structures to his most recently published texts, Chomsky’s writing is permeated by a constellation of terms centered on space, vision, optics and form. This is perhaps not altogether surprising, given that Chomsky is a thinker who identifies so strongly with Descartes, and who describes his theoretical project as “Cartesian”. In Modernity and the Hegemony of Vision David Levin argues that Descartes is the modern philosopher most obviously indebted to the metaphor of knowledge as spatio-visual, a writer whose work most clearly exemplifies a discourse that is dominated by an ocular metaphoric. While a range of figurative expressions characterize generative discourse, ocular metaphors are assigned a place of particular importance.
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Laughter is an important component in any presentation. Even when presenter ignores humor, the attendees find it, sometimes at the presenter’s expense. The need for laughter is so strong that participants seek out opportunities to laugh throughout every seminar. They do so with good reason. It is natural and appropriate to use humor in learning situations. It is, for a number of reasons, also demonstrative of solid instructional design.
Millbower, Lenn. Presenters University. Articles>Presentations>Rhetoric
#14470
Leadership, Rhetoric and the Polis
This article argues that leadership and rhetoric are intimately connected; therefore, rhetoric should include the explicit examination of all aspects of leadership (that is, including but not limited to rhetorical criticism of the speeches and writings of leaders), both as an area of research and an area of pedagogy. This is particularly important when helping students become active members of the citizenry is seen a central goal of what teachers are doing in the English or Communication class. The interconnections between leadership and the concept of the polis, the active assembly of citizens empowered to discuss and make public policy, is useful here, even though the polis may no longer exist in its original form. In particular, leadership through identification with the polis appears to be an approach with great potential.
Gellis, Mark. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2002). Articles>Rhetoric>Management
