David N. Dobrin

David N. Dobrin is an American technical communication scholar whose work addressed foundational questions about what defines technical writing as a practice.

Core ideas

• Technical writing is defined by accountability: Dobrin argued that technical writing isn’t defined by its subject matter (science, engineering, technology) but by its relationship to shared, agreed-upon methods of verification. Technical writing is accountable to its subject in ways that other writing isn’t — the reader can check its claims against procedures, measurements, and observations that the writing itself makes visible [@dobrin1983].
• Writing accommodates technology to users: Dobrin’s working definition — “technical writing is writing that accommodates technology to the user” — shifts the focus from what the writing is about to what it does for the reader.

Notable works

• “What’s Technical about Technical Writing?” (1983)

Related

• technical writing — the discipline Dobrin’s work helps define