1/16 Annotation

Kelli Cargile Cook (2002) Layered Literacies: A Theoretical Frame for Technical Communication Pedagogy, Technical Communication Quarterly, 11:1, 5-29

Started as engineering language in 19th century → 20th century more complex

What is “multi- literate?”

How did mechanical and grammatical correctness become important? I get the “mechanical” part but not the “grammatical” part.

Interdisciplinary skills:

computer skills

oral communication,

Teamwork

Problem-solving

effective interpersonal communication

Integration of complexity.

Two problems:

1. lack of a concise identification of literacies that technical communicators should possess. T

To what level do people need to be literate in order to perform their work in any fields? Is there any differences between fields?

2.lack of understanding about how these multiple literacies can be integrated, situated, or, layered into programs.

How should we teach literacy? Should we single out literacy from any “non-composition” classes?

No structure, no cut in point: struggle

Basic Literacy

5C‘s

Completeness

Consideration

Clarity

Courtesy

Correctness

- narrow view of writing: only for specific audiences

-need to go beyond grammer and ask why choices are correct or incorrect

Rhetorical Literacy

- most often viewed as a multifaceted knowledge that allows writers to shape documents for a specific purpose or audience.

Understand audience

Respond to the audience

Apply strategies

Know oneself’s stand

- use organizational knowledge, analyze, and interpret data

- give the text some “taste” some style beyond only writing “correctly”

Social Literacy

social skills: the ability to collaborate and work well with others.

Who is the “involved audience?”

- not always physically present with the author

- within organizational settings : communicate a purpose for collaboration

For example: emails, phone text

Technological Literacy

- recently begun to appear

- professional communicators to produce communications

- based on the assumption that you already know the technology

- meant to go beyond the technology but to achieve more

- user centered.

Does technological literacy also include “visual literacy?” recognizing icons, graphs, color meanings.

Ethical Literacy

- ethical consider-ations touch many areas, influence how we act

- very little workplace research in ethical decision-making has been completed

- too much of a stretch to bring ethic into writing?