Identify rhetorical considerations

1. Identify rhetorical considerations • Audience • Context • Purpose

2. Research the object • Do background research • Use your senses • Take measurements • Describe motion and change • Describe the context • Collect visuals • Ask subject matter experts

3. Decide on organizational scheme • “Clearest Descriptive Sequence” • Spatial • Functional • Chronological

4. Components of a Technical Description • Title • Introduction/General Description • Detail • Conclusion

5. Components of a Technical Description: Introduction • Definition, function, and background of item • Purpose • Overall description • Principle of operation • Preview of major parts

6. Components of a Technical Description: Detail • Part One in descriptive sequence • Definition • Shape, dimensions, material (with specific visuals) • Subparts • Function • Relation to adjoining parts • Mode of attachment • Part Two in descriptive sequence • Part Three in descriptive sequence

7. Components of a Technical Description: Conclusion • Summary • Interrelation of parts • One complete operating cycle

8. Strategies • Use clear and delimiting title: “A Description of a LeMond Cyclocross Bike” vs. “A Description of the LeMond Cyclocross Bike’s Hub”

9. Strategies • Use clear and delimiting title • Use an appropriate level of detail and technicality (who? How? Why?) • Use objective language

10. Use objective language • Filter out personal descriptions • Select details that are concrete and specific enough to convey an unmistakable picture Poor: His office has an awful view, terrible furniture, and a depressing atmosphere. Better: His office has broken windows looking out on a brick wall, a rug with a six-inch hole in the center, missing floorboards, broken chairs, and a ceiling with chunks of plaster missing.

11. Strategies • Use clear and delimiting title • Use an appropriate level of detail and technicality (who? How? Why?) • Use objective language • Use precise and informative language

13. Strategies • Use clear and delimiting title • Use an appropriate level of detail and technicality (who? How? Why?) • Use objective language • Use precise and informative language • Use visuals