Genres in Technical/Professional Writing

Genres

     There are numerous genres in the field of technical/professional writing. Many of these categories are rather ambiguous in nature and some genres are difficult to place into only one category. “For genres to function effectively over time, Berkenkotter and Huckin surmise, they ‘must accommodate both stability and change’” (Rhetorical Genre Studies) without being flexible enough to allow changes, yet stable enough to maintain some form of structure, genre categories are useless tools. Though the classification of genres has proven to be challenging and even difficult at times, we still continue to search for a method by which to classify. As Carolyn Miller so insightfully writes, “The urge to classify is fundamental,…” adding that “…classification is necessary to language and learning.”(Genre as Social Action).

    

     The best explanation I have read concerning the task of creating functioning categories of genre again comes from Miller who argues that a genre must be categorized not by its form but rather the action it is used to accomplish, stating that “…if genre represents action, it must involve situation and motive, because human action, whether symbolic or otherwise, is interpretable only against a context of situation and through the attributing of motives” (Genre as Social Action).

Application

     In my own internship I have been primarily writing in the genre of “instruction manual” though I use that categorization as a broad term to cover what I am writing. My current project is a workflow document to be used by future interns as a sort of guidebook to this particular internship. Though I am writing my document in a very informal tone, it still needs to maintain the characteristics of any good instruction manual; it must be clear, and accurate, and above all it must be user friendly. As with any type of document the end user should be the main concern of the writer. This document needs to have an easily understandable layout that allows readers to find the information they need with ease in order to be useful.

     As I said, I feel that instruction manual my not be the precise term for this category because typically in this genre it calls for more formal and objective language than I am using in my document however, as discussed above, genre definitions have to be somewhat open in order to be functional. Because this definition covers the majority of the same elements as I am using, I have stretched the definition to accommodate a small change. My workflow document is a good example of how genre definitions can have elements of stability as well as elements of change and still exist and fulfill that “fundamental” urge to classify.

Works Cited

Bawarshi, Anis and Mary Jo Reiff. “Genre Research in Workplace and Professional Contexts.”

---. “Rhetorical Genre Studies.”

Miller, Carolyn. “Genre as Social Action.”

The Technical Writer

            The definition of technical writing can vary, or in many cases be indefinable. In his article What’s Technical About Technical Writing?, David Dobrin defines technical writing as “writing that accommodates technology to the user. The key word is ‘writing’: it should be understood in the monadist sense as a way of thinking and establishing human relations in a group.” Dobrin further explains that the term “user” is more applicable than the term “reader” because technology is a way human beings deploy themselves in the use and production of material goods and services.

Technology is no longer limited to computers or machines since technology is now a major part of life and society. It is the role of the technical writer to bridge the gap between society and the technology in the effort to educate the public. This is reflected in Carolyn Miller’s article A Humanistic Rationale for Technical Writing, “To write, to engage in any communication, is to participate in a community; to write well is to understand the conditions of one's own participation—the concepts, values, traditions, and style which permit identification with that community and determine the success or failure of communication.” Technical writers are capable of applying critical thinking skills that are essential for providing clear and effective communication to the community they serve, which is a potential value to any company. Technical writing is about information—product manuals, web design, graphic design, instructional design, etc.—that present a set of skills and boundaries for the user. This allows for clear and effective communication for the user; however, it may be necessary for the technical writer to step outside of normal writing standards to provide this communication, but without creating ethical issues. According to Miller, the teaching of technical writing “should present mechanical rules and skills against a broader understanding of why and how to adjust or violate the rules, of the social implications of the roles a writer casts for himself or herself and for the reader, and of the ethical repercussions of one's words.”

Technical writers that receive degrees from humanities department have a greater understanding of how to employ the skills they have gained in the department. Humanities departments offer a broad range of skills that are not usually found in other departments. The English courses taken by technical writing students challenge their ability to recognize ambiguity and to interpret the meaning the author is implying. These courses also challenge the students to think critically and to use rhetoric effectively for their intended audience. These skills are used within their technical writing courses; however, this skill set would not be available if the student was not receiving their degree from the humanities department. Miller contends that “If we do begin to talk about understanding, rather than only about skills, I believe we have a basis for considering technical writing a humanistic study. The examination and understanding of one's own activity and consciousness, the "return of consciousness to its own center," is, as Walter Ong has suggested, the central impulse of the humanities.”

Sources
Dobrin, David "What's Practical About Technical Writing?"
Miller, Carolyn "A Humanistic Rationale for Technical Writing"