Central Works in Technical Communication

Many of the articles in the collection are becoming dated, but that does not take away their foundational role in the creation and furthering of Tech Comm as a field. I am glad to own the book, and it's price is pretty reasonable considering just how many foundational articles are in here. It's like having 25 of the most important journals all packaged in one book. One of its equally important peer collections, Power and Legitimacy (Vol 1 & 2), is absurdly priced. For a PhD student like me, the high pricing means I'll go seek out PDF copies of those articles. The pricing on Central Works makes it accessible.There are a few problems with CW, but those are with the actual printing of the book. Problem 1: mediocre binding; at least several of my pages started to fall out, and I treat my book with respect. I expect Oxford to produce solidly bound books, not books that remind me of cheapo Penguin reading copies. Problem 2: the paper should be on a better, heavier stock. The current stock is a bit flimsy, notes/marks easily show through the pages, and it didn't feel solid. For an anthology like this, something that could and SHOULD literally last and serve on a practitioner's as well as an academic's shelf for 10 years, more care needs to be put into the production and binding.The reflective essays which introduce the articles are useful and interesting in most cases; however, a few authors left me asking, "Why'd you bother if you now disdain your own work?" The TOC and alternative thematic/topical sorting were very useful.It would be nice if the editors would compile a second volume of more current articles.

Yes, it took me over a year to read all of the essays here, but that's not saying much about the book itself. More about me.Many of these essays are extremely interesting--especially to a teacher like me who is starting to teach more and more Technical Communication courses. This book allowed me a glimpse into where much of Tech Comm began, and how technical writing grew into its own "thing" rather than simply being lumped in with general writing.Admittedly, some of the essays are dated completely. However, many began conversations that are still extremely relevant and needed today. A few of which my students now read and we discuss in my various classes.It might be dense, and yes, many of these conversations have moved well-beyond what's presented here, but this is an interesting place for those starting in on the tech writing areas of academia.

This was an excellent text to introduce a student into the theoretical realm of technical communication. I found the texts interesting and captivating, however, difficult to comprehend at times. I just began a Technical and Professional Writing Certificate program and this was one of the texts assigned for my first class. As a MSW student as well, I had little knowledge about technical communication but wanted to improve both my writing and communication skills. However, I acquired much more. Technical communication is by far an interesting field and this book does a great job at exploring the many facets to the discipline through multiple theoretical perspectives. Reading this text is a must for aspiring technical communicators.

I'm a graduate student halfway through a Master's program in Technical Communication, and this was a required textbook for one of the program's core classes. I definitely won't be reselling this one; I was surprised at how many articles in the book I had seen referenced elsewhere. While some of the articles are a bit wordy and dense, and are getting a bit dated, I think this book will be an important resource for my future classes. Looking forward to the sequel!

This book is very helpful for anyone who wants a solid collection of articles related to technical communication. However, (somewhat ironically considering the scope of tech comm!) the book is not very well or clearly organized. My problem with the layout was I wish that the book provided a clear table of contents....instead the book has the articles organized by topic. That sounds fine in theory but I often found that an article could easily fit into multiple categories and as a result I had a hard time locating pieces I read. Anyhow, the collection is pretty good but you honestly can probably locate all the articles in "Central Works" online via databases. I hate to say this but all the book is just a collection of articles that were published elsewhere.

For academics either in or entering the technical/professional writing field, this book offers a comprehensive review of the field via articles written by canonical experts within it.

kept me so bored in class and entertain that i only slept twice. lol. good for class though

When I first read this book four years ago in a graduate-level course in rhetoric and professional communication, I admit that I was out of my depth. I didn't know who any of the writers were and I thought academic journal articles were really tough to read. Now I'm working on a dissertation in professional communication and I've realized that most of the articles in this book are in my reading list and will end up in my literature review. The articles have been reprinted in their entirety and each one is prefaced with a reflection by the author.If you are teaching a grad-level class in professional communication theory or writing and analyzing professional documents, then this is the book you need.