I mentioned structure a little bit in my post, too. I completely agree with your assessment of technical writing as “invested in the needs and interests of the audience,” an audience “who need[s] to be able to quickly and efficiently use documents to achieve or understand something usually about a specific task.” Not only do readers expect structure, but one of the purposes of technical writing is to provide a highly structured document for users. Writing clear, precise prose is one of the ways we can accomplish this. I don’t think that means we are simply translators or “cogs in the corporate machine,” as Wilson states.

On the other hand, it is up to us to find value in our work and to find ways to make sure others recognize that value, too. Postmodern theory can give us one lens through which to view our roles as symbolic-analytic workers, but I don’t think the modernist paradigm is necessarily limiting in all situations (and I don’t think Wilson would disagree).