TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Re: Paradigms From:dmc7938 -at- UCS -dot- USL -dot- EDU Date:Fri, 19 Mar 1993 15:50:37 -0600
Concerning paradigms, Jeanette Harris in her book _Expressionist
Discourse_ (1990) (I think that's the title.), presents a model of discourse
that could work well for technical writing. I can't really reproduce the
graphic here, but the model divides discourse into a cross shape. The top
vertical line is the writer's influence on the text Moving from an internal
textthrough a generative text to the final text. The bottom vertical line
moves
from the reader's interior text through a generative text to meet the final
text. The horizontal line designates types of discourse. To the left is
pragmatic discourse and it can be either experience-based or information based.
To the right is aesthetic discourse and it can
also be experience or information based. The type of discourse depends
upon the perceptions of either the writer or the reader.
Draw the diagram, and think about it.
deany m. cheramie
university of southwestern louisiana
deany -at- ucs -dot- usl -dot- edu