Abstract

In contemporary composition studies, the concept of audience has been primarily represented as a fictional construct that is either the image of an objective reality (audience addressed) or of a fictionalized construct of a writer's imagination (audience invoked). This article adds to this theoretical taxonomy of audience through the inclusion of a third model of audience: audience involved. Drawing upon definitions of technological knowledge and rhetorical notions of art, making, and use, the case is made for an epistemic audience. To exemplify the notion of an involved audience, usability methods and two case studies of audiences are presented to demonstrate the active, collaborative, and negotiated nature of the involved audience. This article concludes with a discussion of the implications of involved audiences for both technical communication and composition pedagogy.

Citation

Johnson, R.R. Audience involved: Toward a participatory model of writing. Computers and Composition, 14(3), 361-376. Elsevier Ltd. Retrieved August 14, 2024 from https://www.learntechlib.org/p/204977/.

Keywords

• Audience
• collaboration
• Composition
• pedagogy
• rhetoric
• Technical Communication
• Technological Knowledge
• usability
• use