Joel Adkins
(jadkins2 at emich.edu)

The Power of Information Design: Forget the One Ring, I'll Wield Rhetoric

It was not so long ago that I thought of rhetoric as nothing more than political trickery. Therefore it was nothing short of an epiphany when I began to understand this fine art as information design. There were many times throughout the semester that the technical writing course I attended strayed from the usual stringent academic process, but it was at these moments that my mind interpreted and encoded the meaning of rhetoric the best. This would not have been possible without the interaction between myself and classmates and would certainly not have come to pass without Dr. Benninghoff's willingness to allow the class to laugh at ourselves and even the topic at times. As absurd as it may seem my own incessant rambling about the Lord of the Rings probably aided my understanding of rhetoric more than anything else. Having the opportunity to relate an abstract practice to something that I have great personal interest in made the study far more enjoyable than it otherwise would have been.

Accepting rhetoric as information design was one task. Casting ethics into the fray only served to complicate this many layered skill. The ethics involved in rhetoric was highlighted best in Katz's article "The Ethics of Expediency". The article analyzed the way in which Nazi officials communicated their ideas about the most effective methods by which Jews and other "degenerates" could be exterminated. The Nazi Party used rhetoric callously, making expediency the foundation of it's ethics. And if like the Nazi Party your interest is systematic genocide, applying expediency as an ethical base to rhetoric will turn the craft into something shamefully horrific instantly.

As well as Katz's article illustrates the ethics involved with rhetoric, it took another example from the Lord of the Rings to help me better grasp the understanding of the subject. Gandalf and Saruman are both powerful wizards representing divergent viewpoints. Saruman succumbs to the will of the Dark Lord Sauron when he becomes obsessed with the the power of the One Ring. Due to this he begins to utilize the art of rhetoric in a deceptive, oppressive manner. Gandalf, who would eventually surpass his one time superior in power, spread the truth about the One Ring. Realizing that such a creation only answered to it's creator, Gandalf, despite multiple chances, denied himself the power of the Ring. Instead he entrusted its keeping to a more innocent people while he used rhetoric to unite the free peoples of Middle-Earth to fight an enemy that sought to divide and destroy them one by one.

The Team Introduction Memo (TIM) and Process Documentation Memo (PDM): Hi My Name Is...

Contextualizing the TIM & PDM

The Problems of "Joining" a Tech Writing Team
Our first official assignment in English 424: Technical Communication was to write a letter introducing ourselves to the rest of the class or the tech writing team. Essentially the task was to provide some relevant background information. I began by providing both personal and academic information that I felt would help give my classmates some useful facts about myself. The second paragraph dealt with my writing history and the last focused on what I could offer the team. After several drafts I felt I had written a concise introduction, one that my classmates or team members would find informative.

Reflecting on the TIM & PDM

Humor me...or not
When reviewing early drafts of the TIM and following feedback from the class I decided, however painful it may have been, that the early drafts were too informal. I have been told and have recognized myself, that often times that the off the wall sense of humor I possess can leave people scratching their heads or reaching for a pistol, therefore, I thought it best to take a more formal approach. The end product was indeed formally written but I feel I captured my voice well and successfully communicated to the readers that I am an interesting person who could be a valuable asset to the team.

Unconscious Rhetoric
Many times when I write I do so off of pure emotion. Where rhetoric or information design is concerned this isn't always a good rule to practice. I often succumb to the idea that honesty is the best policy but it has been my experience that at times this approach can turn people off or worse scare them away. This is what I like to call unconscious rhetoric. This type of writing is a rhetorical decision but it is one I make without giving the audience it's due consideration. Understand this is not something I do in all my writing rather this approach seems to be prevelant when I am given the task of writing an introduction of myself. The feedback I received from classmates on this particular assignment has increased my awareness of rhetorical writing decisions.

The Creative Rhetoric Scenario: An Elephant Cannot Forget What it Refuses to Learn

Contextualizing the Creative Rhetoric Scenario

Father of Mine
Our task for the Creative Rhetoric Scenario was to craft a hypothetical situation between ourselves and someone that we know well. I chose to create a conversation between my father and I. While the actual assignment is technically a work of fiction, the content of the conversation has taken place countless times in various ways. The goal of the CRS was to apply rhetoric in a conversation, displaying that we were aware of its uses and to communicate those ideas to another person.

The fun in the assignment was the journey. In some ways I am a lot like my father, but in others we are polar opposites. It is through these polar opposites that the majority of the conversation revolves. Another aspect of the assignment that deserves mentioning is that of tacit knowledge, or knowledge that is pre-existing and shared between a given community; in this case my father and I.

Reflecting on the Creative Rhetoric Scenario

The CRS was a very enjoyable project to write. It provided me with the opportunity to look at an active relationship in my life and create a conversation regarding rhetoric and how it applies to everyday situations. This assignment was important because it helped make me aware of how rhetoric is used in conversations that may on the surface seem to be nothing more than typical, average, discussion. Essentially it made me understand that rhetoric is everywhere.

The Context & Genre Analysis Project: Anti-Logic and the Workplace

Contextualizing the Context & Genre Analysis Project

Workplace Incommunicado
The object of the CGA Project was to pick an aspect of our lives that involved a process of writing, such as a workplace, and outline just how this type of writing was effected by communication, how it effected communication, and what claims we could draw from the data that was gathered.

Reflecting on the Context & Genre Analysis Project:

Is This On
Many claims were drawn from the data that was gathered for the Context/Genre Analysis Project. Since I began working I have found that workplace writing is not always a conductive process. Such was the case in the study done about Media Play.
Rhetoric should be practical but as we have found throughout the semester this is not always the case. Many places of employment are guilty of this. I think employers could greatly benefit if management and others within the company that distribute such writing were to participate in classes that deal with information design.