ABSTRACT
Technology is undeniably a system, a series or set of things that connect together to make up a complex whole or procedures or steps that must be used in order to ensure something gets done. For writers, it is essential to think about how systems operate, their roles and the roles of others in those operations, the role that writing plays in those operations, and how those systems operate in our world. A system is embedded in a variety of places, both artificial and natural, and part of a larger network of systems. By looking at a system as embedded in a network of systems, writers are able to see the relationships between technologies, humans, writing, and their environments. In this respect, writers should think rhetorically about their roles and the roles of others within a system, how those roles enable or limit their capabilities, and how their actions have consequences. To help readers understand these roles as writers of and within systems, this chapter offers up examples of specific systems such as search engines and databases and explains how writers work with them.
