5372 Winsor Rdg Notes

Winsor
Engineering Writing/ Writing Engineering

341
acknolwedges lack of sci method

342
"knowledge is constructed in the interplay between nature and the symbol systems we use to structure & interpret it (references Bazerman).
engineers often seen texts as just write-ups of other info

study focuses on the writing patterns of an individual experienced PhD engineer

343
texts are interpreted in order to become engineering knowledge (quote)
refers to Latour & how objective of lab research is to generate documents/inscription

"[T]he textual construction of knowledge is social in nature because each document must convince other people of its validity in order to be accepted as knowledge."
"For the technologies, writing is a means to the end of producing an object. Knowledge is built for this end, rather than valued for itself."

Winsor argues that while it is not final product, it is way that knowledge is created

344
papers often draw not on lab results but on the reports others have written up
documents produced by looking at other documents
document authority is not same as usefulness

345
graphs as compared to visual texts
both are important
written texts are present throughout entire process

345-346
knowledge of the document is considered to be knowledge of the thing
believing the document as valuable as knowiing the thing is akin to confusing the sign for the signaled, no?

346
Eng. see reports as means to present facts while the author argues they are a means of generating a community, profession, and knowledge
inclusion of recommendations in spite of it being to lat as example (247)

347
structure of reports & inclusion of additional material is often not for other readers
more to match their own ideas/notions of self/performance of their role
348
in the creation of self through text, the communities have a stake in what the members do as well

349
writing is what engineers do
engineers often resist idea that writing mediates what they do

scientists do not have a special way of knowing; instead, they use means, writing, open to the rest of us

all knowledge is mediated