What is it about?
Catechisms were a popular genre in the early modern period that helps us better understand how instructional writing emerged out of oral instruction. The 1549 Prayer Book Catechism has more of the qualities of preliterate oral communication than a 1604 addition to that text, which shows a trend toward modern plain style, a trend more fully realized in the 1647 Westminster Shorter Catechism. This paper shows that oral features are involvement-oriented, making instructional writing more user-friendly and effective.
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Why is it important?
This research helps us better understand and improve technical writing and sheds light on an unexplored but influential piece of the history of technical writing. It contributes to our understanding of the complex relationship between orality and literacy. And also contributes to our understanding of early modern English religious culture and texts and the history of the Church of England.
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This page is a summary of: “Let me heare … if thou canst say”: The Utility of the Prayer Book Catechism (1549–1604), Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, August 2020, SAGE Publications,
DOI: 10.1177/0047281620946307.
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