
Faigley’s model acknowledges that writing is an action: In particular, she is believes that a model of communication created by Faigley might be very useful because of its attention to the social perspective. Models that are context sensitiveĭriskill proposes that a better model of communication would be sensitive to the context in which a document is created. The problem Driskill sees with this theory is that it ignores the potential impact that context can have on both how the transmitter creates the message as well as the ability of the receiver to understand the message. Upon receiving the encoded message, the receiver then decodes the message into something intelligible to the receiver. In the Shannon and Weaver model, a transmitter encodes a message, and then transmits this message across a channel to the receiver.

Models of this type tend to focus on the structure of communication and the functional roles of each of the actors within this structure. The most emblematic example of this type of model is the Shannon and Weaver model of 1949. Technological mediums this aspect focuses on the mediums themselves and how they affect the nature of the writing process.The processes of the writer This aspect focuses on ensuring that the writer uses the correct methodology for creating documents.The genre Models focusing on this aspect reduce the nature of communication to matching the correct document style to the correct genre.The examples Driskill gives focus on three aspects: This type of model theorizes the nature of communication in terms of particular aspects of communication. The second type of model conceptualizes communication only as a system with abstract properties. The first model of communication only examines communication through particular aspects of communication events or processes. Consequently, it might be possible to offer a definition of “context” as the following.ĭriskill identifies two traditional types of communication models that fail to be sensitive to the writing context of a document. They all help define the situation in which a document is created or used. The technological and economic constraints of forms of written documents are possible, or printable.Įven though the word “context” can refer to a very wide variety of factors, all these different factors do share one feature in common.The social context of in which the technical writers and the audience live, or the context of acceptable use of the English language in business and colloquialisms.The context in which the information for a document was gathered.The authors, the technical communicators, writing a document and the context from which they write.The audience for which a document is intended.The workplace in which a document is created.The “context” could refer to any number of factors, such as: The focus of this presentation will be upon the latter scope of context: the role of context in the creation and use of documents.

The meaning of the word “context” can have a very wide scope within technical communications.
