Mixing bits and pieces how technical writers meet the needs of larger writing communities through intertextuality /

by Woerner, Joanna L.

MIXING BITS AND PIECES: HOW TECHNICAL WRITERS MEET THE NEEDS OF LARGER WRITING COMMUNITIES THROUGH INTERTEXTUALITY By Joanna L. Woerner Because technical writers frequently work with larger writing communities (the multiple discourse communities that collaborate on a project), they must learn to blend the unique languages and conventions of multiple communities into one acceptable document. This blending can often prove challenging. However, by using intertextuality – defined as the practice of employing specific phrasing and visual elements that direct readers’ minds to accepted, pre-existing communications within a discourse community – technical writers can mix ‘bits and pieces’ (Porter 1986) of successful communications into new discourse. Though the definition and application of intertextuality has been much debated over the last forty years, I will demonstrate how it can be valuable to technical communication by describing how I used intertextuality during my internship at the Integration and Application Network, a branch of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science in Cambridge, MD, and by providing guidelines for establishing intertextuality in a document.