When attempting to understand and define professional writing, there are many questions that come to mind. Who uses professional writing? Or how does professional writing differ from more commonly practiced disciplines of writing and communicating? Upon researching and inquiring about how professional writing is used to communicate in the workplace, I have gathered opinions from scholars and professional writers of different discourses, both who use various genres to relay information. A brief definition of professional writing is a style of written communication used in a workplace. This mode of communication allows professionals (e.g. professors, business people, doctors, lawyers, etc.) to make informed decisions. Professional writing generally …show more content…
has a formal tone and differs from written text that is considered literary or artistic. This report summarizes my research and documents my findings on what modern professional writing is, as well as how it is used in the workplace today. Purpose The general purpose of professional writing is to convey information to readers within a workplace context.
The specific function of professional writing to could be one or a mixture of the following, depending on …show more content…
circumstance: To instruct To encourage action To inform To persuade To affirm shared goals Analysis and Results: The University Programs Though professional writing has many definitions and features, two scholars defined those who use it in the workplace as a "professional whose primary identity is as a writer/communicator" (Couture & Rymer 1989). With this definition in mind, a question is raised. Is professional writing just a secondary activity of workplace professionals? The answer is no, it is quickly becoming a field of its own. Recently, universities have been responding to this development by creating new programs, both graduate and undergraduate, in technical communication or professional writing to help prepare students for this professional area. Such universities as Clemson University, which offers an M. A. in Professional Writing and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute who also offers an M. S. in Technical Communication. Of course this professional discourse is not new, technical communicators have long existed in the workplace. But these professionals were typically engineers or professionals with humanities degrees. It is only until recently that universities have begun to develop programs specifically for this area. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Technical Communication department describes its program’s goals for the M.S. in Technical Communication as combining work in theory, writing, information design, and content production. Their program encourages students to acquire knowledge of information and product usability, product design, rapid learning of electronic tools. The aim of the program is to allow students to hone their professional writing technique while they gain practice with the information production skills needed to advance in a career as a technical communicator. The university expect graduates to equip themselves with the tools and skills needed to keep up with rapid changes in information technology and in information design. Analysis and Results: In the Workplace Aside from college programs and technical communication practices in academia, there is also a mode of communication being utilized and adapted daily in the workplace environment.
Many scholars agree that technical communication, although considered a professional writing genre, could still be defined as separate from the communication used by business professionals (e.g. professors, business people, doctors, lawyers, etc.) To begin to understand writing in the workplace, one could start by defining what collaboration in the workplace is. Scholars Burnett, et al. describe collaboration in the workplace as communication that occurs across project groups, departments, divisions and other social configurations. This communication serves as a process that allows peers, specifically co-workers in this instance to interact and work together to achieve shared goals, both before and after the production of a text or document. Collaboration is important in the workplace because it enables social interaction amongst coworkers and encourages workers to communicate, help one another, and form productive relationships. Effective collaboration in the workplace has been proven to produce a happier, more productive
workforce. Conclusions: These categories and boundaries between types of writing may strike some as confusing, arbitrary, even silly. Some of these boundaries are handed down to us from distinctions between types of work and from disciplinary distinctions entrenched in the university system. The distinction between business writing and technical writing is a good example. Traditionally, business writing was the type of workplace writing done by accountants, managers, and executives whose field orientation was business or management. Technical writing, on the other hand, was the kind of writing done by engineers and technologists and had its place in the School of Engineering. To further complicate matters, you will find that at some schools (like Purdue University), both the business writing and technical writing courses are taught in the English department. At other universities (such as the University of Michigan), these courses are taught in the School of Business and the School of Engineering, respectively. At some schools the two courses are taught as one, a single course in business and technical communication. Due to the prevalence of the computer in the workplace, the work of the professional writer has expanded to include electronic (Today, online) texts as well as paper documents—and even animation and sound as well as printed text. Today, the term "professional writing" includes more than what is typically considered "writing" (in the narrow sense). Writing in the broad sense includes all kinds of audio, visual, and verbal texts, delivered via computer or paper: e-mail messages, magazine advertisements, multimedia presentations, online help systems for computer applications, electric bills, business reports, pamphlets or brochures, business cards, web directories, graphical user interfaces, and business letters. All these various genres are forms of professional writing.
This group has around seventy thousands engineers and people who are interested in engineering and construction from different countries. The group posts a lot of articles, designs, interviews, researches, and inventions in relations to engineering. This Civilax group is created so that different engineers from different countries could exchange skills and experiences. In this group, writing is a main form of communication between those members. They use written rules and regulations to be followed by its members, they use writing to describe inventions and
The article “Is Writing an Essential Skill for Engineers” by James Koelsch discussed how having the ability to write and communicate is a very important quality for all engineers to possess. The author used multiply techniques in trying to persuade the reader as to why successful engineers must be able to write, as well as be able to communicate to others. Koelsch started out by using anecdotes, talking about his own personal experience with learning about writing and communication in his college years, which he used to relate to his audience because his audience seems to be engineering college students. Likewise he used a few different examples on some professionals’ views on how they
Writing can be a very difficult process for those who do not know how to go about constructing
Any craftsman knows that you need the right tools to complete a project successfully. Similarly, people need the right language and usage to communicate in a positive way. How people write is often a problem because they don’t have the right tools, but a bigger problem occurs when a writer “is almost indifferent as to whether his words mean anything at all” (592). If a writer carries this mentality, why try to communicate in the first place? People need...
As a college student and as an administrator I have had to write various documents, reports, essays and correspondence. I have taken a few writing courses that have marginally helped to improve my writing skills but I still do not feel completely comfortable with the final drafts I have produced. This journal entry will examine my previous experience with writing courses, strategies that have been successful, my strengths and weaknesses in writing and what I hope to gain from this course.
My English 1310 course was taught by Professor Daniel Stuart. He taught us the concept of academic writing and why it is important. Academic writing is the process of breaking down ideas, using a formal tone, deductive reasoning and third person. Writing done to carry out the requirements of a college or university on a research based level. It requires a starting point or introduction, followed by a thesis on the preferred topic, then comes proving and disproving of the evidence based arguments. It is important because it is a way to communicate our thoughts clearly and originality. It helps us think and see what evidence we can come up to contribute to that thinking. This course approached this idea of academic writing by exploring further
Academic writing is a critical part of your success as a college student, many professors require the kind of components that are included within academic writing. A rhetorical situation can be the sole factor that determines the key components within any piece of writing. It is also a way to show differences in pieces in academic writing, A rhetorical situation requires many elements this includes a properly composed thesis, ample research sources, carefully crafted citations and thorough checks for plagiarism through application, summarization and paraphrasing. Learning how to write academically shows that you know more than just the information you researched it’s a in depth analysis of the topic. Some people don’t learn how to write academically until they enter college. Being a real disadvantage because it can effect their grades and how other students and the professor perceived their work. Incorporating these elements to any form of writing can make it more interesting, engaging and pertain to your audience.
Ethics in the workplace is a very important thing to have. Without a sense of ethicality in the workplace there are many things that could go wrong. You could even end up losing a job because of a lack of ethics, or other consequences could be felt due to a lack of caring or morality. The workplace is a place that you should show respect and dignity, and a deeper sense of ethics is very important in order to uphold these senses of morality. Workplace ethics, which include such things as behavior, integrity, commitment, teamwork, and other things, are important, if not required, in most workplaces and can help to improve performance and morale for workers and employers.
Throughout one’s life, there are many driving forces. Some of them are based upon one’s background; others are based upon one’s desires. In the realm of Higher Education, one does not enter lightly into a position, for, if one does, it can result in a burnout. It behoves individuals to play to their strengths and fill out their weaknesses so as to be a well rounded individual who is able to deal with a variety of situations, both positive and negative, as they arise.
Therefore, PR writing is an essential aspect in PR. So, we must be able to work and speak with people comfortably in the public environment in order to communicate effectively. Hence, the most fundamental tool a PR people should have is the ability to write and write well. PR people write news release, annual reports, advertising copy, radio and video scripts and social media posts to reach the purpose of building and holding relationships with publics and media. In order to achieve various functions of PR; your writing must be effective writing. So effective writing is important for PR professional field, especially in today’s online
Describe and explain how this factor can potentially have a positive influence on workplace relationships
According to The College Board’s recent study on the essentiality of effective writing in the workplace, “Two-thirds of salaried employees in large American companies have some writing responsibility” (Kerrey). If a college student plans on exiting college and obtaining a job, adequate writing skills will likely be required. The National Association of Colleges and Employers found in a 2010 study that “Communication skills are ranked first among a job candidate’s 'must have' skills and qualities.” So, the need to communicate well in a workplace makes adequate writing skills increasingly necessary for any potential member of the
In addition to that, my writing skills also been improved due to engaging in writing this thesis. Regardless the general opinion that with increasing importance of information technology, the process of writing letters and reports are being replaced by alternative means of business communications, the writing will always be an important and significant for business
There are several forms of technical writing. Each form is important to business success and influences their viability and success. Those unfamiliar with how effective technical writing can improve a company’s performance and overall satisfaction of its employees and vendors, often overlook that importance. The data are clear – companies that focus on effective communication succeed. Rich Maggiani, a communications consultant in Essex, Vermont asserts that the return on investment for communications focused companies is 57% higher than those exhibiting poor communications skills. He further states that those companies who lose sight of effective communication can lose up to 15% of their market valuation (Maggiani). Organizational studies further solidify that not only is profitability improved, but also employee retention is improved (Watson, Wyatt & Company). Let us explore some of the ways that technical writing as communication can be effective tools. Throughout this exploration, we will look at three distinct methods of technical writing that businesses use to communicate.
Work environment is an important element to increase the satisfaction level of employees towards their jobs. Jain and Kaur (2014) stated that “all the aspects of work environment are correspondingly significant or indeed appropriate when considered job satisfaction and also affects the welfare of employees” (p. 2). Thus, it is obvious that a favorable work environment is not merely affects the employees’ performance in an organization, but also compensation and benefits to employees and job satisfaction of employees in the organization. In general, there are three types of work environment: work-life balance, rewards and recognition and open communication that lead to job satisfaction of employees (refer to Figure 1 in Appendix 1).