Tanesha Blackmon-French
(email address)

The Priceless Art of Rhetorical Writing
This course taught us the importance of bridging the gap between technical writing and communication. As we know technical means specialized knowlege, but communication is an ability to transfer specialized knowledge across boundaries and presenting information so that anyone can understand. Technical communication isn't about creating boundaries, rather it is about opening doors. Making knowledge useful.

I have learned that as technical writers our biggest challenge is learning how to think and analyze a project before we begin writing.Technical communication taught me how to think. Or to be more conscious of the thought processes that are already happening, so that I can cross communication barriers. Unlike previous classes that emphasize following directions, grammar and sentence stucture, we learned that our value is our ability to think through and solve problems. I also learned that rhetoric is a complex concept that can't be defined as one thing. Rhetoric involves so many aspects of language and its ability to be used as a tool. Rhetoric without ethics resembles the sterotypes that we have been taught-that rhetoric is an evil giant living in the woods that corrupts by association or trickery. Rhetoric can involve language or actions used to influence, persuade or bring about change. Rhetoric involves using words to make meaning out of the world.

It also taught us to value our talents as writers--I took this to mean that we should not sell ourselves short and allow others to demean our writing by saying that we just write. This class changed my perception of what I love to do. As a writer I am an information designer, and this is so valuable. People normally don't acknowledge the power of words until they are used for evil. But, I have learned that in all cases, my words can create the reality. The very first day of class changed my perception of my craft. The professor began to explain our journey this semester. But instead of giving us all the answers, he gave us all the questions. Questions like:"What is my purpose when writing this document? " "Who is my audience?" and "How can I reach the audience most effectively?" I was once told, evertime you learn something new, you become something new, and I have learned more about my art and the process of writing-hence the butterfly imagery. Learning how to ask the right questions has changed my approach to writing.

The Team Introduction Memo (TIM) and Process Documentation Memo (PDM): The Importance of Making Connections

Contextualizing the TIM & PDM

An Exercise in Revision
The Importance of Making Connections: Team Introduction Memo

Our introduction letter was my first technical communication assignment that asked me to be extremely conscious of rhetoric. I learned that the assignment was more than an exercise in skill, instead it was an example of a definition of the term introduction that was new to me - the process of "making connections." This task taught me alot about the process of editing, writing for a particular context and the make-up of a workshop styled course. In this contextualization, I will expalin the lessons I learned and relate them to one of our earlier readings Perspectives on the Study of Rhetoric by Foss, Foss, and Trapp.

All of my previous academic writing experiences taught me that an introduction memo was an opportunity to share personal things about yourself with an audience in order to help them learn more about you. According to this definition, my previous introductions didn't change very much according to the audience. I chose generic information that I could share in most situations, when asked to introduce myself.

However, this assignment taught me a very memorable lesson that I have applied to all of my writing since, the importance of writing for context. In order to be effctive, we learned how to choose information that would be understood by our classmates and make it easy for them to relate to us, and want to welcome us as an asset to the team. More specifically, I learned introductions are supposed to make connections. In order to make connections, you must study the audience and their purposes.

As we read, the study of rhetoric is complex, and I tried to "apply reason to imagination" for the purpose of influencing my classmates. Every aspect of the memo was rhetorical from the talking heads we learned to apply, to accepting and using our classmates critiques of our draft.

We took adequate time writing this memo. It initialy seemed like alot of time to me, but as my understanding of the assignment grew, I understood why we were writing these memos in steps. The time used to write the memo was appropriate because it gave us a chance to learn more about our audience as we wrote.

Each workshop taught us something new about the expectations of an introduction memo, and in each workshop, as we shared our drafts, I learned more about my audience which made it easier to make connections with my classmates and tell them why I would be a valuable member of the team. We were selling ourselves which is one popular feature of rhetoric. In other words our job was to "influence the will" of our classmates as George Campbell's (1719-1796) said in the article by Foss, Foss, and Trapp.

The PDM gave us the opportunity to document those thought processes we so often ignore. As my understanding of the audience changed, so did my drafts. The most important lesson I learned preparing the PDM was that the revising means seeing the document again, in a new way to make meaningful changes.

Please read ahead for my team introduction memo. I hope the amount of effort and revison which led to the finished project shows and accomplishes our goals. <
Reflecting on the TIM & PDM

Lessons in Disclosure

The process of writing the team introduction memo and process documentation taught me how important it is to choose which information to disclose according to the particular writing context. The process documentation draft worked hand in hand with the memo writing process because it made me look at my work in sections and analyze if the writing was meeting its purposes. This was helpful, because this more conscious act of writing and rewriting made me realize when I was going off-track and refocused me on our goals in this context. I made so many changes to the team introduction memo and the finished product looks nothing like the original which was 2- 3 short paragraphs that I initially thought would suffice. Along the way, my audience told me the types of information to include and what to delete. My profeesor taught me how to arrange the information so that the reader didn't have to work to find my points. I t was my job to present adequae information in a reader friendly way.

I will never write any type of document the same. From this process, I take with me the importance of pre-writing or sitting down to anlayze my goals beforehand. I also take the type of self editing that occurs while I write. Never again will I get to the end of a lengthy technical document and say, "What happened here?" And if I do ask the question, at least I'll be conscious of my detours along the way.

[ on to project | return to top ]

The Creative Rhetoric Scenario: Making Rhetoric Real

Contextualizing the Creative Rhetoric Scenario:

Simplifying the "Sea of Rhetoric" Learn - then Teach
Our task in writing the creative rhetoric scenario was to present some aspect of rhetoric to someone we normally communicate with in a way that would make them understand the definition of rhetoric. In other words, our job was to take a complex concept and simplify it so that someone else could fully understand. To accomplish this, we had to first cement our own ideas of what rhetoric is, so that we could find ways to teach someone else. Then we had to take this definition and present it to someone we know in understandable language,either through persuasion or metaphor or other tools that would make our audience understand. We demonstrated our grasp of this concept by preparing a fictional dialougue between us and our student.

Throughout the class we joked that we were "dolphins in a rhetorical sea" because the concept, was more than we expected it to be. The concept of rhetoric was deeper than just one of its most famous goals-persuasion, and more than the easy definitions that have been passed down throughout our academic careers. Our challenge was,"How o we relate the complexity of rhetoric without leaving our audience in the "rhetorical sea?"

In this scenario, I attempt to explain three major aspects. First, I try to explain that rhetoric is all around us and is being used even when we are not aware. Secondly,I am teaching that rhetoric isn't necessarily all bad, and thirdly that ethics play a major role in rhetoric. Like most things in life, rhetoric is only as ethical as its user.

Reflecting on the Creative Rhetoric Scenario

Professor Benninghoff Persuaded Us through his use of Rhetoric
Looking back on this assignment I am happily amused. Amused because I understand now that even this assignment was rhetorical. Through using a task that we were all more comfortable with-creative writing, our professor helped us want to learn more about rhetoric, and explore it in depth. This entire assignment was rhetorical! The professor caused us to learn by telling us to teach someone else.

I am amused because I see that all of the attempts to open deeper realms of my understanding worked. I can see the use of rhetoric in this assignment. Aspects from the fact that the professor told us to explain rhetoric to someone we already knew, to the fact that he trusted us to be able to teach someone what had been taught to us, were all rhetorical tools. Powerfully positive tools, because they fostered learning in a comfortable way and assumed we were up for the challenge. This assignment alone shows the power of rhetoric when used for good, and that leaves me encouraged.

The Context & Genre Analysis Project: Syllabi Packets

Contextualizing the Context & Genre Analysis Project

Zooming Out to Zoom In
The Context Genre assignment is a combination report in which we describe a broader context, and how a particular setting functions. We provide detailed descriptions of our contexts. Then,in the second part of the report, we foucus on how a single document functions within the context. For example, inmy report I studied how a system of documents within the context of an upper-level communication class worked,and how the context affected the way these documents worked. I described a system of documents form class notes to exams given by the instructor and how they affected the way the class funcioned. As we discussed when studying Driskall's article Understnding the Writing Context in Organizations, context does affect the way documents function. We were not supposed to assign judgement to whether the way documents worked was right or wrong, but instead our job was acknowledging that context is a factor, and helps determines how documents function. In other words, this assignment would help show that ocuments do not function in a vacuum.


As we learned the context report was a broad look at the big picture, but the genre report was our opportunity to zoom into one specific document and how it shaped the way work was done. I chose to study the syllabi packet demonstrated in class, because its very existence played a major part in how the class worked. I made claims about how the document was used was determined by the various users and were they were as students.


Reflecting on the Context & Genre Analysis Project:

Reporting Teaches the Writer and the Reader
Professor Benninghoff taught us an imprtant lesson about reporting. An important aspect of reporting is the ability to observe and document without adding value judgements to the results. That is very challenging, learning how to present information and allowing the reader to be their own judge. As we learned in Katz' article, The Ethic of Expediency I have learned that efficiency is not as valuable as presenting information in an ethical way. Because of our writing experiences, my writing choices are forever changed.

Becoming More Aware of Our Context
This assignment was challenging because it caused us to become more aware of what is happening around us everyday. In order to write these reports, we had to begin documenting things that we usually accept as "normal" without questioning why they happen. Again, we were taught to question, not just accept things because they "are." And this was very challenging, but so rewarding. I am forever changed by the concept that we should question as writers. Question the truths that are a part of our daily lives and beliefs.


"Everytime I learn something new, I become something new."