Design Discourse - Composing and Revising Programs in Professional and Technical Writing, 2010a

The Great Instauration
• Use case studies to train your students. Just as young lawyers study past
cases to learn legal precedent and to master the conventions and of the
courtroom, young PTW practitioners should study past dossiers to learn
documentation and to master the demands of the workplace. Case studies
are the ideal forum for argumentation and ethical speculation, where
students can practice institutional and technological advocacy before
multiple audiences.
“There is in human nature generally more of the fool than of the wise; and therefore
those faculties by which the foolish part of men’s minds is taken are most potent.” (94)
Sir Francis Bacon, “Of Boldness” from The Essays (1625)
• Be honest about the politics and absurdity of institutional writing. Most
textbooks skirt this issue by presenting straightforward models and forms
and ideal collaborative situations. Your program must address the reversals,
rivalries, and irrational thinking that characterize most writing projects
and suggest effective countermeasures. At the very least, coping strategies.
If you send lambs to the corporate sheering floor, you are guilty of
fleecing yourself.
“For it is a rule in the doctrine of delivery, that every science which comports not with
anticipations and prejudices must seek the assistance of similes and allusions.” (175)
Sir Francis Bacon, Book 6, Ch. 2, De Augmentis (1623)
• Stress the finer points of style and persuasion. Arrangement, formatting,
even striking visuals are not enough to create a winning presentation.
Sometimes the telling phrase, the striking metaphor, the provocative analogy
carry the day.
“It is a trivial grammar-school text, but yet worthy a wise man’s consideration. Question
was asked of Demosthenes. What was the chief part of an orator? He answered, Action.
[Delivery.] What next? Action. What next again? Action.” (94)
Sir Francis Bacon, “Of Boldness” from The Essays (1625)
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