This report was written to examine the usefulness of rhetorical language in technical writing. My feeling has always been that some form of explanation is necessary in technical writing to truly engage the user, thus ensuring the best possible opportunity for success. I did quite a bit of research for this paper, and I felt that my argument was well presented and supported by information gathered by experts in the field. It is included here as a demonstration of my ability to produce documentation that draws upon objective and empirical evidence, rather than conjecture and theory alone.