Elizabeth Tebeaux

The Emergence of a Tradition (eBook, ePUB)

Technical Writing in the English Renaissance, 1475-1640

• Format: ePub

Produktbeschreibung

Changes in English Renaissance technical books provide a new, and as yet largely unexplored means of viewing the Renaissance and the dramatic changes that emerged during the 1475-1640 period, the first years of English printing. This work covers this topic.

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Produktdetails

• Verlag: Taylor & Francis
• Seitenzahl: 246
• Erscheinungstermin: 6. Februar 2018
• Englisch
• ISBN-13: 9781351841269
• Artikelnr.: 54141895

Autorenporträt

Elizabeth Tebeaux

Inhaltsangabe

Chapter 1-In Search of Our Past
The purpose of this book is to show that early English technical writing
anticipates many of the same issues important to modern technical writing:
writers were aware of the comprehension levels of their intended readers;
many technical books were designed for ease of use. That is, they
exemplified good page design as well as a structure and a style that would
enhance the readability and usability of the information. Increasing use of
graphics and visual aids to convey information enable modern researchers to
track the shift from orality to textuality and from textuality to visual
presentation as a means of conveying methods of performing work. English
Renaissance technical books show the triumph of textual instruction over
oral instruction.
Chapter 2-The Rise of Technical Writing in the English Renaissance
This chapter summarizes historical events that nurtured the growth of
technical writing in the English Renaissance: the growth of wealth, the
growth of knowledge, the advent of printing, the rise of humanism. The
chapter also surveys examples of technical books produced throughout the
Renaissance-medical books, books on farming and animal husbandry, books on
gardening, books on household management and cooking, books on recreation,
books on military science and navigation in addition to a variety of how to
books covering technologies important to life in the English Renaissance.
Chapter 3-Format and Page Design in English Renaissance Technical Books:
Early Recognition of Reader Context and Literacy Level
This chapter examines a number of technical books published from 1489 to
1640 to show changes in format-emergence of tables of contents, listing,
bulleted lists, and use of Ramist dichotomies-bracketed tables, overviews,
cause-effect analysis-in logic books, medical books, religious books, and
even geography and culinary books.
Chapter 4-Renaissance Technical Books and Their Audiences: Writers Respond
to Readers
Examining English Renaissance technical books also shows that their writers
were aware of the information needs and the reading comprehension level of
their readers. Analyzing the presentation methods used by these early
technical writers reveals how they adapted material for these readers'
information needs as well as the literacy level of these intended readers.
Chapter 5-English Renaissance Technical Writing and the Emergence of Plain
Style: Toward a New Theory of the Development of Modern English Prose
The majority of studies of the rise of modern English have ignored
technical books and their pervasive use of plain style. By considering
technical books in addition to traditional canonical books considered in
language study, we may thus question the view that no plain style of
consequence existed prior to Bacon.
Chapter 6-From Orality to Textuality: Technical Description and the
Emergence of Visual and Verbal Presentation.
Examining the first printed English technical books allows us to see how
printing, the growth of knowledge, and the rise of literacy all worked in
tandem. The merging of visual and verbal in technical books allows us to
trace the demise of orality as a means of conveying knowledge in many
fields.
Chapter 7-The Legacy of English Renaissance Technical Writing: New
Perspectives on Basic Rhetorical Issues
This book and its survey of technical writing in the English Renaissance
allow modern technical writing teachers and researchers to see that many of
our modern concerns evolved during the first century of printing. Examining
early forms of technical writing shows that technical writing has a long
and honorable history and a tradition that has implications for modern
assessments of language and style.