Rhetoric by design: Using web development projects in the technical communication classroom

Abstract Technical communication instructors increasingly see the importance of the World Wide Web as a research tool; however, many are uncertain about how to make Web development projects pedagogically valuable. I argue that such projects can play a critical role in establishing a rhetorical focus in technical communication classrooms. The Web development process helps students form a more concrete understanding of the rhetorical situation and its pertinence to technical documents. Moreover, an extended term project requiring student groups to create technical print documents in the course of developing a Web site provides a useful way to foster objectives for students' communicative efforts and, thereby, encourage rhetorical practices suited to the complex communication situations students will experience in the workplace.

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