| Carl Chatfield home page | Thesis | Front Matter |
What you are viewing is my graduate thesis ported from paper to HTML (level 2.0) for the World Wide Web. In porting my thesis to HTML, I have tried to take advantage of the online medium:
Except for the front matter, I have chunked information as follows: one chapter per HTML document. To better accommodate online use, I rearranged the front matter slightly. I moved the Table of Contents above the other front matter, since in the online world the Table of Contents becomes a central navigation point. Otherwise I have preserved the format and structure of my printed thesis.
This thesis was not intended to be a hypertext document, although it can (I would argue must) be read as such online. This thesis is a highly structured document, and intended to be read in the sequence indicated on the Table of Contents. In the online world, however, such structures quickly fall apart and the reader (user?) is left to explore.
Happy exploring!
Carl S. Chatfield
January, 1996
PS - I welcome your comments on this thesis (the online structure and the overall content itself). I am most easily reached via email at cschat@msn.com.
PPS - For those of you who prefer a good read with a tangible book, this thesis is available at the Library and Technical Communication Department of the University of Washington.
A book is made better by good readers and clearer by good opponents.
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche,
Miscellaneous Maxims and Opinions (1879)
I wish to express my gratitude to my thesis committee for guiding me on this most exciting venture: my committee chair, Professor Mary Coney, and my committee members Professors David K. Farkas and Judy Ramey of the University, and Mark Simpson of Microsoft Corporation.
I would also like to acknowledge my colleagues at Microsoft Corporation who have made it possible for me to pursue my graduate studies: Will Sibbald, Matt Spaur, Tom Grismer, and Lisa Moore.
My wife, Rebecca Henderson, has been a constant source of inspiration in this and all my life's ventures. Thank you.
Finally, I wish to thank my parents, Viola Chatfield- McMullen and Mac McMullen, to whom I dedicate this text. Your years of hard work and dedication have not gone unnoticed.
In presenting this thesis in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a Master's degree at the University of Washington, I agree that the Library shall make its copies freely available for inspection. I further agree that extensive copying of this thesis is allowable only for scholarly purposes, consistent with "fair use" as prescribed in the U.S. Copyright Law. Any other reproduction for any purposes or by any means shall not be allowed without my permission.
Signature ____________________________
Date: December 15, 1995
University of Washington
The Supervisory Committee:
Associate Professor Mary B. Coney, chairperson
Associate Professor David K. Farkas
Associate Professor Judith A. Ramey
Department of Technical Communication
Mark Simpson
Microsoft Corporation
This thesis examines rhetorical issues in primary and secondary manuals about a popular microcomputer software application. Primary manuals are included with software applications; secondary manuals are purchased separately. The analysis is informed by models of authorial and reader roles from literary analysis. It was found that primary and secondary manuals differ rhetorically. By manipulating rhetorical factors such as situationality and intentionality, secondary manuals can develop a stronger sense of "otherness," or separateness, from the software application. Such rhetorical factors allows authors of secondary manuals to develop a stronger authorial voice or ethos of friendly guide or mentor, as well as a higher degree of empathy with the reader.