Extended Abstract: Using Empirical Data to Inform Technical-Editing Pedagogies

Prescriptive usage rules form a core part of technical-editing curricula. In spite of calls to view technical editing from a rhetorical perspective, the way these prescriptive rules are taught sometimes still lacks a rhetorical focus. In this project, I argue that empirical usage data derived from corpora can help technical-editing instructors teach prescriptive usage rules in a more rhetorical way. Specifically, I discuss the findings from a large-scale corpus-linguistic study of prescriptive usage rules in formal and informal written English. I also discuss three guiding principles that can help technical-editing teachers use empirical data to promote a more rhetorically aware approach to their classroom instruction.