A study examined a set of 78 journal articles identified as influential in technical communication (published between 1988 and 1992) and a preliminary list of 63 articles frequently cited between 1993 and 1997. The texts were organized into six topical groups: profession, rhetoric and composition, document design, social construction and collaboration, and workplace communication. These topics identify the competencies and meta-skills with which technical communication directs its problem-solving activities. Results indicate that the competencies and accompanying meta-skills reveal the literacies (stories) associated with technical communication that establish its place as a discipline--in particular, concerns for document design, text production, and workplace communication. (The table listing texts frequently cited by authors in technical communication journals is presented.) (RS)