Instructor Blog #1: Welcome to Professional Writing
Welcome to English 420Y. This is a writing intensive course designed to introduce students from various fields to the principles of professional writing. Professional writing will be defined as the writing used to maintain and support institutions, including businesses, governments, non-profits, and the university itself. The course and its principles are grounded in rhetorical theory that students will be introduced to throughout the semester.
Rhetoric, briefly defined, is the use of symbols to produce an effect; in professional writing specifically it is the use of audience and context awareness, concise and clear writing, persuasive images and graphics, and well-designed documents to facilitate cooperation between people within and beyond specific institutions. Though rhetoric has acquired negative connotations within political circles and contemporary media, it has a rich history as one of the oldest intellectual pursuits in the western world. Because of the focus on audience, context, ethics and persuasion inherent in every professional document, rhetoric will greatly assist the purpose of this course.
Rhetoric is complex, but these are a few of the key concepts of rhetoric that will inform the class:
- Audience: Every text is produced for a specific audience. Therefore, knowing that audience is crucial for producing a successful text. As you produce texts for the course, think about the audience who will be reading them. What do they need to know? How do they feel about the subject under discussion? What expectations or biases do they bring to the document? What will they need to be persuaded about? What do they value? What vocabulary do they use? Knowing all of this is crucial to producing a successful document. This course defines three kinds of audiences: Primary readers to whom your document is addressed; Secondary readers who advise primary readers; and Tertiary readers who may have an interest in your document, such as a supervisor or a legal team. Most professional writing documents have all three types of audiences.
- Context: Every document is produced within a specific context that affects it. For instance, producing a resume as a college grad for an employer who doesn't know you is different than producing a resume as a senior level employee for a hiring committee who knows you well. Understanding how context affects a document and how the document can reflect that effect is critical. In the textbook, and in this class at large, context is often called "rhetorical situation."
- Ethos: Ethos is the credibility the writer or writers have in a document. Incorrect spelling on a resume helps construct an ineffective ethos in a professional document. Great design, conversely, helps construct an effective ethos. Ethos is also the persona created by an institution and conveyed through its writing.
- Kairos: The Greeks had two conceptions of time: chronos, which represented linear time, and kairos, which represented quality of time. Having good kairos means capitalizing on the right time to do the right action. The classic scenario of bad kairos is getting insulted and thinking of a great comeback hours later, like George Costanza. Great kairos is delivering the comeback then and there. Like comedy, professional and technical documentation often rely heavily on karios.
Much of this class will focus on how to communicate with distant audiences. The online nature of the course is therefore ideal for professional writing. Just like professional writers, this class will require the presentation of complex material and the coordination of complex projects using only writing and images. Jeremy and I believe this experience will help equip students for the work force, and we believe that professionalization should be a major component of the course. Because we want students to thrive in a job environment that demands quick and excellent writing, we expect everything written in this course to be treated as though it were for a professional environment, and we will grade accordingly. This is a high standard, but it is designed to make students marketable and effective in their careers.
This course also emphasizes that writing is a crucial aspect of business that tends to get overlooked. People often downplay the role of business texts, believing that they don't serve all that much of a function or that it is just corporate bullshit that makes work more complicated. While there is some terrible business prose out there, writing is crucial to any organization. In fact, modern corporations and organizations (including Purdue) could not exist without writing. Imagine trying to run a business without writing a word (including the laws, contracts, and inventories that writing comprises). It simply couldn't be done.
Those heavily involved in corporations usually know how important writing is. When I flew back to Indiana several months ago, I sat behind a group of men and women who worked for Alaska Airlines that were pouring enthusiastically over a report they had just received. One man handed the report to another, recommending it as an extremely interesting document—then both were excitedly pointing out key passages and remarking on their potential. These people know how important writing is in business, and the potential it has. So does a Boeing Engineer I talked to over winter break who told me that technical writing is one of the most important courses she took in college. Some case studies show that engineers and other professionals spend up to 60% of their time on the job writing—and that the higher they climb in the ranks, the more writing they do. Corporate CEOs are often English majors because they can express themselves and communicate well.
Because of the importance of writing to corporate America, recruiters and business schools are now placing more emphasis on writing. Career Journal reports:
More M.B.A.s who can compose a cohesive memo or letter would make investment banker Darren Whissen of Ladera Ranch, Calif., happy. "I have found that many seemingly qualified candidates are unable to write even the simplest of arguments,' says Mr. Whissen, who is director of research at Waveland LLC. "No matter how strong one's financial model is, if one cannot write a logical, compelling story, then investors are going to look elsewhere. And in my business, that means death."The Seattle Times reports:
Business students at Miami University's Farmer School of Business in Ohio work on rhetoric and are reminded to tailor their writing style to the purpose. They are told that conciseness and understanding one's audience are more important than ever. "People have been complaining about the quality of student writing since Plato," said Kate Ronald, an English professor who runs the school's Howe Writing Initiative. "But I think businesses are paying more attention to it. Businesses today are doing so much more writing, and doing it so much more publicly—because so much of the discourse is discussed on the screen rather than on paper."Despite these accounts, it seems like many students in non-liberal arts majors still feel that writing skills aren't relevant to their work. However, the ability to express yourself clearly and communicate well is always an asset, and usually one that gets noticed. Therefore, one of the goals of this course is to prepare you for writing on the job—specifically persuading audiences to participate effectively in the operations of an institution, whether it is customers purchasing products or engineers building them. Professional and technical writing needs to be clear, concise, and informative. It needs to consider and satisfy every potential audience.
Because good professional writing is always appropriate to the document's audience and context, rhetoric influences every professional document. Every document, even something as straightforward as instruction manuals, also has a persuasive purpose. Science scholar Bruno Latour writes: "An engineer has to stimulate interest: that’s the long and short of it. And [(s)he] also has to convince; that’s the Law and the Gospel.” Every document in this class has a persuasive function as well. Reading Responses are partly designed to persuade us that you have read and understood the materials. Work blogs and activity reports inform us about what you have done AND persuade us that you and your group are working hard. Documents on the job also must be persuasive to their audiences—to supervisors, engineers, investors, lawyers, clients, customers. When they are not, businesses flounder.
Good professional writing also needs to quickly conform to high standards. It needs to be great, and it needs to be fast. It needs to get the big rhetorical moves right and pay close attention to details. It needs to provide a professional ethos for the author and the company. Writing not up to professional standards can cause a business legal and financial trouble, and can cost people jobs. Therefore, Jeremy and I want to emphasis effective work habits this semester so that you get comfortable writing professional level prose at a quick rate. It will be hard work now, but we hope you'll be grateful later.
Welcome to Professional Writing Online. We hope the course is enjoyable now and useful in your professional lives.
Comments
Professional writing
This blog helped me realize how important professional writing really is. I think a lot of people have looked past the fact that being able to write effectively is a very important part of the professional and business world. Darren Whissen gives us an example of this in the Career Journal when he talks about how many qualified candidates lack in writing skills. Before I read this I would be more likely to say that writing is not an imperative skill in the business world, but when you look into it with more depth you realize how helpful it can be in being successful in this field.
reflection
I agree that writing is often over looked in the business world. I have worked a few internships and most of the communication is done via email. It is important to be able to communicate your ideas in a respectable manor.
I believe that know your audience, context, and ethos is extremely important. The same document given to different people can get different reactions. If you don’t have correct spelling you often won’t be taken serious even if your information is correct.
If you can’t get your point across often times it will take you much longer to get the information you need and this delay will cause delays in your overall project that will reflect negatively on you. I was unaware that many CEOs were once English majors. However, this is not surprising.
David Eagan
Writing Skills are Incredibly Important
Writing has always been not only something I enjoy, but also an area I excel in. Almost every sinlge day at my internship last summer, other interns were being scolded by their supervisors for being unprofessional in the messages they write. If an intern at a large corporation's e-mail full of grammar and spelling errors were to leak to the public, it would shed an unflattering light on the entire organization. I feel that many students in the age of e-mail lingo have forgotten that the majority of people evaluating them at work are of a different generation with a more conservative writing style. This blog entry expresses the importance of meticulous writing skills not only in business, but in everyday life. The written words we choose to express and represent ourselves speak volumes about our character. I believe that professional writing skills are extremely important, and I am glad I am not alone!
RE: Writing Skills are Incredibly Important
This issue of generational difference is important. Most of us (not so much me and Ryan, who are more familiar with the original Transformers than the new movie) have been in raised in a period when the lines between relationships, and particularly the public and private spheres, have blurred. Here's an experiment: think of how many times you have seen a person wearing pajamas or sleepwear to class. How many times have you heard a person having what should be a private phone conversation in a public space? How many times have you heard of people sending email to employers or professors and addressing them by their first names?
What is sometimes difficult for people of this generation to understand fully is that while these actions are ingratiating for peers, they are insulting to many people of previous generations. It may be true that your parents and some older people you know enjoy being treated like one of your peers, but the professional world is still largely dominated by a generation that makes a much sharper distinction between the private and professional worlds (and when you are in their position, it is likely that you too will adopt this stance). You should prepare yourself for this by incorporating decorum into all of your professional communications, including all of them for this class. Use titles, use courtesy, and don't treat your employers like you treat your friends until you have build up a personal ethos with them. Once you have established trust and a personal relationship, then you can can gradually change the tone of your communications.
reply
As I read through this blog, it helped to firm up the ideas in my mind that writing professionally is a very important skill to possess. Being in the construction industry, I used to feel as though I would never have to use writing in my professional career. When I got an internship for the summer, one of my main responsibilities was to communicate with the architect and subcontractors of the project we were working on. Most of the time I was writing for others who had questions that needed to be answered or information that needed to be passed along. Many of these times I would write the messages personally but have to sign someone else’s name to the document putting a great deal of responsibility on my shoulders to be able to communicate well while representing others.
I also had an interview for another internship where the question was posed to me, asking if I had good writing skills. Not wanting to sound boastful, I said that I had average writing skills and the interviewers didn’t really like to hear that as the job they were looking to hire for needed excellent communication skills.
Just reading this blog has strengthened my thoughts on how important written communication will be in my career.
Mr. Sandquist writes: Most
Mr. Sandquist writes: Most of the time I was writing for others
who had questions that needed to be answered or information
that needed to be passed along. Many of these times I would
write the messages personally but have to sign someone else’s
name to the document putting a great deal of responsibility on
my shoulders to be able to communicate well while representing
others.
I have been in a very similar situation. Last summer, I distributed a marketing piece under the name of the CEO of my client. As an intern hoping to make an incredible impression on my bosses, I felt immense pressure to perform with my writing skills. This situation seems to come up a great deal in intern positions where you have a lot of grunt work to do for the superiors in the company. Situations like Mr. Sandquist's and my own are the perfect example, in my opinion, of when knowing how to convey yourself in a professional manner through your written words is of utmost importance. If you succeed in a situation like this and cast a positive light on the people evaluating you, it can create wonderful opportunities. However, on the other end of the scale, people higher-up hate to look like a fool, and there can be consequences if you (the lowly intern) blow your chance. Has anyone had any positive or negative experiences like this?
It's interesting
Importance of Professional Writing
Before reading this blog, I didn't realize the importance of professional writing. I assumed after I completed my ENGL 108 class my freshman year, I had finished my writing skills because I was a Management major and not an English or Liberal Arts major. Now I completely understand the importance of professional writing. I consider myself to be a strong writer and I always enjoyed my English classes in high school and college. I know the importance of spelling and grammatical errors and the message of incompetence that those errors could create. I also agree that the audience is very important to consider when writing for a business. Just like the audience is important in a speech, the audience is also important in writing. Different types of audiences could interpret and react to the same document.
Professional writing is also important in communication through e-mail. Text messaging and instant messaging have shortened words and added abbreviations that many people do not understand such as my parents. Many employers that I have talked to at career fairs and leadership conferences have expressed their disgust with writing skills and the abbreviations in e-mails. I think it is important to separate these abbreviations from our personal lives and our professional lives.
Overall, this blog entry has helped me realize the importance of professional writing and the many instances that I will use professional writing in my future career.
RE: Importance of Professional Writing
What we see here is the importance of adjusting your communication for a situation, which is the main thrust of rhetoric. Many people have the mistaken belief that there is a single, neutral writing style that is applicable in all situations. This simply is not true. There is no neutral style, and there is no such thing as objectively good grammar or mechanics. "Good" style and "good" grammar are determined by the needs of the situation. The style and grammar that get the results you want in a specific situation are by definition correct, whether or not they conform to Edited American English. There are, of course, many situations where "bad" style and grammar are the most appropriate choice, such as in personal communications and even "high" genres like poetry. This does not mean that you should blow off the conventions of professional communication and American grammar. Indeed, the converse is true. You must view them as tools in your toolbox, ready to be used when necessary. But just as with tools, no single one is right for every job. You can't drive in a screw very well with a hammer, and you usually can't get investors to fund your start-up with textspeak.
A related issue is the necessity to vary your style and grammar as situations dictate. Many, many, many people labor under the mistaken belief that they have their own singular style, and that should be good enough regardless of whatever situation the person is in. People are often very defensive about this issue, and will claim that they like their personal style, and they see no reason to change it. However, in truth, each of has has multiple styles of communication that we slip in and out of as the situation dictates. To get the results that we want, whatever those results might be, we owe it to ourselves to hone our ability to suit the communicative needs of the situation. To try to stick to one style of communication isn't staying true to your own voice; it is being lazy and sloppy, and more importantly, it will almost certainly hinder your attempts to get the results that you want in any life situation.
Professional Writing
After reading about professional writing and all the aspects, I now realize how important it actually is to the real world. In the professional world writing is essential. I am currently working as an intern for a non-profit, The Make-A-Wish Foundation, and just in the past month my eyes have really been opened to how important writing is. Everyday alone, I write about four letters to different hotels, amusment parks, or national parks requesting discounts or comped prices, and depending how well written the letter is, relies on how much of a discount is given. Every letter I write, I know has to be written with a purpose. The more knowledgeable you sound about your non-profit or whatever it may be, the more willing people are to help. I am very excited to learn more beyond what I already know, and become very knowledgable in this field.
Alayna Willis
Professional writing
This blog has many good points, almost all of which I readily agree with. I agree that many people, especially students, do not realize the importance of writing professionally. I myself am often guilty of this notion, but I have slowly realized that if I want to move up professionally I need to be able to communicate in an effective and professional manner. However, I do believe the line of thinking that professional writing is not important or doesn't apply to many majors and careers is stems from our schooling. I can't speak for many majors, but I know mine and a few others put a great deal of emphasis on problem solving and very little, if any, on writing. It is a shame, as we graduate we are collectively very bright students but without knowing how to write in an effective or professional way can give the impression that we are unable to perform in the world outside academia. This is why I am glad I have the opportunity to take this class, even though I may not be the best writer I hope to gain the appropriate skills to communicate in a manner suited to the professional world.
RE: Professional writing
The American university has gone through many changes, and there has been an observable shift toward sealing off subjects from each other. The influence of the Enlightenment, the Germanic university model, and the need to kill a whole lot of people as fast as possible in the Civil War were big factors in this shift. At one time, however, the American university was much more holistic. Subjects weren't compartmentalized in the way they are now, and students often studied with the same instructor for all of their classes. The idea was that the university produced a particular kind of more refined person, rather than someone specialized in one particular area (if this seems elitist, it's because it is). There is still something of this notion in the liberal arts mission of the American university. This is why, for example, you are forced to take a certain number of classes outside of your major. The university still has some grounding (but not much) in making you a well-rounded person rather than a savant.
I often hear students complain about having to take courses outside of their majors. I can empathize with people who know what they want to do and don't see the point of spending time and money on other pursuits. However, the truth is that a university is not a vocational school nor an apprenticeship (although it has been moving more toward being in the service of business and industry for many decades). Those are both fine, career-driven options, but a university still believe it should do something else. However, for better or worse, a university education has become almost mandatory. It has become the last four years of high school. I'd be interested to hear other people's thoughts on this issue, rather than regurgitating my own, clearly bitter ones.
RE: Professional writing
I too have noticed over my past 3 1/2 years here at this fine University that some majors are severely more focused than others. More than once I have helped a friend in Engineering or Computer Science put together a resume, or fine tune their interviewing skills. Even tasks like writing an e-mail to an interviewer for follow-up seemed painful for them, but for me is an everyday task.
One reason I chose Selling and Sales Management in the school of Consumer and Family Sciences over Management in Krannert was the extra freedom I seemed to have to shape my own way. Many professors in my major have stressed that the reason our major is not located in Krannert is because they wanted free reign to teach us any skills they felt necessary, instead of conforming to a schedule with many classes we would never use. I feel as though I get real-word experience and practice in my classes, instead of learning straight from the textbook. Everyday is a new adventure that we can shape ourselves, and I feel that this particular experience will carry directly over into the careerpath of my choice.
I do not think that the fact that it is necessary to have a University education to succeed in many professions is such a bad thing. I feel as though getting a higher education has been the most fulfilling and rewarding experience in my life thus far. I simply cannot wait to see what Grad School in a couple years, then my PhD., have in store for me. Heavily educated people tend to have the largest network, and the greatest variety of personal experience to draw from, and so I feel that the most educated people should be the ones leading our current generation.
Professional Writing
I agree with most if not all of the points in the blog. People don't seem to think that writing is important in business or at most jobs. However if you are a potential client and you get some information on a company and the brochure is badly written with plenty of grammatical errors you will probably percieve the company as stupid and you will probably take your business elsewhere. The company that I am interning for this summer seems to have very well written brochures and information packets that they give to potential clients and I feel that this is a big reason for why they do so much business. The clients read through the info and can tell that they know what they are talking about and that brings in more business. Business writing is very important in the business world today and will most likely be a major contributing factor in whether or not you get picked for your dream job.
Professional Writing Significance
At the time, I did not see the significance of taking COM 114. Now that I am older and more mature, I wish I had put just a little more effort into my work. I now see the importance of the class.
I always knew having good professional writing skills was important, but this blog helped me understand just how critical it really is. I was never the most avid person when it comes to writing, but my internship has since changed that. I am currently working for a technology firm and so far it has exposed me to the “real world” in that I’ve had to communicate via e-mail to high-ranking people within the company. I find it very intimidating because my communication skills aren’t exactly the best in the world, but I know this course will help prepare me for those future e-mails as well as many other important applications.
It’s almost mind-boggling to know that you could be the world’s most efficient candidate, but if you cannot persuade a customer to purchase your company’s product, then you are basically worthless. This course is not going to be a walk in the park for me, but I am up for the challenge.
RE: Professional Writing Significance
This is an exceedingly important point. There is little separation between how you present yourself and who you "really" are. (I would claim that these are identical.) This is magnified in professional situations. You are the ethos that you construct through your communication, be it written, spoken, visual, or other.
The Important of Professional Writing
I completely agree that professional writing is extremely important. The ability to effectively convey an idea to others is a key asset, especially in today’s world. One really needs to consider the audience when proposing an idea. The content and how you present it can make or break one’s chance at success. One must prove to his or her audience that he or she has researched the topic and has put thought into the presentation. With effective communication, credibility, and good timing, one can be extremely persuasive and give a dynamic presentation. Whether it is a simple email or an elaborate project, one must be able to put all these components together. This class will give valuable knowledge that will be useful in every field of study.
Professional Writting
Professional writing is very important in the business world, at my internship that I am working at right now I have to write many professional emails and memos. It really takes a lot of effort to think out and plan what you are going to say and how you are going to say it. It really matters a lot in the business world because a lot of people are going to see what you wrote and the point that you are trying to get across is important. This blog was very interesting for me and it really opened my eyes to many new things. I found it really interesting that many CEOs of corporations were English majors in college. I had also never heard of kairos before but it makes complete sense, timing is everything. I am really excited to learn how to write more professionally in this course. It will not only help me when I graduate and get a career but it will help me with the internship I am working at right now.
Professional Writing
I definitely agree with the imortance of Professional writing in the Business world. The better a person can write, the better he is at expressing his views which enables him/her to present logics and presentations more effectively. For example one of the purposes of cover letters is to give the employer a sort of image of the candidate. With the way it is written is the sort of image that the employer is going to form in his mind. In all it is the backbone of the business world.
Importance of Professional Writing
I strongly agree with points in this post. Being able to write in a clear and concise manor is much more important than most people think it is. I currently work in the accounting department of a company that manages many hotels in southern Indiana. Even having only worked this job for a few weeks, I already understand the importance of professional writing. Most of the communication that takes place between the different departments and even the individual hotels takes place through e-mail. With over 12 hotels to manage, it is very important that the employees are able to clearly communicate with the managers of the individual hotels. It is equally important that the individual hotel managers are able to communicate professionally as well. I hope that completing this course will help me to improve my writing skills for not only my current job, but for all of my future jobs.
Professional Writing
This blog provides a good introduction to the importance of business writing both for this class and in our future careers after we graduate. Many of the ideas in this text can be viewed as "common sense," but after further explanation we can see this is not true. For example, when the author discusses the idea of rhetoric, he provides the basic definition, but also delves into greater detail by providing information about how audiences can be subdivided, how context must change for different groups of people, and other issues that help put into perspective how our texts should be written to accomodate the right people. The author also builds his ethos by providing some sources from professionals, which enhances his credibility. This step was important both for us as readers, to know that we were not just reading nonsense, and when we start to write our own documents. We will need to provided sources so we can be deemed credible for the audience who views our texts. This blog is a good introduction to what we should expect when taking this course, and what we should be able to accomplish when we finish the coursework.
Professional writing
I strongly agree that Professional writing is very important in the Business world. At first I didn't think writing would be so important in the business world until I started my internship this summer and my co-workers asked me to write up a bunch of reports. I think writing is very important in a person’s life because the better the person can write, the better they are at expressing their views which can help them to present their ideas more effectively in the future.
Professional Writing is an Asset
I believe that this blog is relevant to professional writing, and explains writing well. Many look at writing in the classroom as performing a chore, rather than obtaining a skill. I certainly thought of it as a chore until I began working for one of Purdue’s resident hall offices. I learned how to write memos and e-mail that could relay messages clearly and effectively. Through writing these I learned how to communicate better and relay messages to different types of audiences.
Professional Writing Response
I agree that writing is an essential part to any business transaction, especially in this day and age where we are so pressed for time, it has become increasingly important to be able to convey what we want to say in a clear and concise manner. In addition, as we continue to become a more digitized society, the reduction of face to face interaction with each other is another reason why it is important to be able to communicate effectively through our writing. Although ethos and context are important characteristics of writing, I believe that audience and kairos are the two that are most important. If you don’t know how to address your audience or when the right time to approach them is, you might ruin your relationship with them and consequently lose future business opportunities.
Professional writing
In a recent job interview I had with a partner in an Accounting firm, I asked him what advice did he have for me. He replied with take as many Accounting and English classes as I could. He said that English and writing were the two things that he is bad at and he wished that he could go back and learn. He felt that they were a very important part of his job, and something he always tries to improve on. That really surprised me but it enforces everything you said
Response to Blog #1: Welcome to Professional Writing
I think I can understand what the contents of this blog address. Professional writing is definitely important. One of the parts that I was most able to relate to dealt with instruction manuals for engineers. I am not an engineer, but the same instruction has to be applied for scientific research. Any paper that is published should be specific enough to the point that anyone, anywhere could replicate the experiment and get the same results. At the same time, however, this document is still one of persuasion. The author is trying to tell the reader that his theory is correct and provide them with his version of the appropriate evidence. When writing a paper like this, the author has to follow all the criteria of professional writing stated in the blog. The blog defined rhetoric as “the use of audience and context awareness, concise and clear writing, persuasive images and graphics, and well-designed documents to facilitate cooperation between people within and beyond specific institutions.” This is exactly what a scientific paper is. It is written toward a specific audience, generally other scientists in that field. It is written in a way that can be followed by the readers. Graphs and charts are used as persuasive images as well as to make the data more understandable. Finally, many scientific papers result from the work of people in more than one location in the world, bringing them together.
RE: Response to Blog #1: Welcome to Professional Writing
The Importance of Writing
The way that we write professionally is often overlooked. In today's culture, we place so much importance on education, that we sometimes forget that without the ability to communicate accurately, quickly, and professionally the benefits of education are lost. Even if the content or the information contained in the writting is exceptional, without a clear format, the ideas get lost.
This class is very important to teach students the importance of knowing your audience and the correct way to convey ideas. We all act differently around our friends then we do in class and when we meet important people. This is a natural thing, but we do not always realize that we must also learn to conform our writting in the same way depending on who we are addressing.
The business world has social norms established and this extends to writting. Whether one is composing a letter, creating a resume, or just sending an email, the format is important to show your reader that you are intelligent.
Importance of Professional Writing
After reading this blog, I agree that professional writing is very important. As I have progressed though my science major, I am beginning to understanding the need for the ability to write clearly. Lab reports, research papers, and understanding complex material are all examples of our need for strong professional writers. All of these things need to be written for a particular audience so the reader can understand the material. Also, in a composition such as a resume, I agree you need to write clearly to make your good attributes stand out. Many times you only have a few seconds to really make yourself stand out. Besides a resume, an example of this is a medical school personal statement. This can become a huge part in a decision that can change your life. With strong professional writing skills, you can make yourself stand out and have a leg up over many people.
RE: Importance of Professional Writing
Business writing skill
This blog helped me to realize how important professional writing is in work places. I also agree that every document we compose in business world should have a clear purpose and audience. When I interned at an electric company in Korea, I had to send customer caring emails to different customers with different contents everyday, and I had hard time composing the content logically and pithily since I didn’t have enough knowledge about business writing. I also regret for last year when I applied for internship at Accenture. I was not aware of the company’s ethos they valued and just wrote my resume with irrelevant information and skills which made it redundant and lengthy. This day, even to engineers, having professional writing technique is a forte of their career. I feel that if I had better idea to persuade someone effectively, I could have been more competitive employee and had better work experience. So I think to get a good job and to perform successfully in the job position even from now on, this course would be very helpful to me.
Professional Writing Reply
I thought that the introduction was informative and discription as to what I should expect to gain from this online course. It also persuaded me that professional and technical writing skills are significate in developing my professional career.
Even though I am a science major, I already can see the importance that writing skills play. For example in lab write ups and protocols for research, etc, I am observing and using different writing styles and skills. I am observing the practical importance and how having them can set you apart from the rest of your co workers. As a part of my internship, one of my projects was to update the chemical inventory and software for a computer. Along with updating I was asked to write out directions. The directions are for anyone who might need to log in chemicals or use the software on this computer. This tasks has taken me many days to complete, because I have to consider such a wide range of audiences.
I am really looking forward to being challenged in this course and learning a lot about professional writing.
Importance of writing skills
I feel that this blog described how a lot of the students in my major feel. Several students complain about taking English courses and think it is a waste of their time. I on the other hand have been working with Purdue and other businesses and have found that even if a career is pursued in the animal industry communication is the backbone.
If a potential employee can’t demonstrate their ability to communicate while knowing everything there is to know about pigs in the long run the overall farm will suffer from lack of communication.
I have a tendency to write more then I need to and am eager to better my skills of precise writing because no one wants to read a page long email when it really can be summed up in a paragraph!
Professional Writing
I was aware that writing was of some importance in the business world, but I did not realize that today it is considered of utmost importance. I agree that a true professional has to master writing in order to be successful today.
I am planning to go into the financial industry, and as I read from the text: "No matter how strong one's financial model is, if one cannot write a logical, compelling story, then investors are going to look elsewhere. And in my business, that means death." I got motivated to improve my writing skills. In my opinion, most people today don't realize how important writing is, and how a paper you write can reflect the type of person you are and sometimes even the way you think. I believe this course will help me elaborate my writing skills and will help me both personally and professionally. I'm looking forward to these next 8 weeks.
This professional writing
This professional writing blog helped me to have a better understanding of the content of the class and expectations needed both in this course and in the business world. I definitely see the need to incorporate efficient and precise business skills via manuals, emails, letters, and corporate memos. I believe that in a competitive society excellent business skills are necessary and one needs to present himself in a literate and educated manner. Presently, in my internship I have become aware of the inadequate business writing skills that most of my co-workers exhibit. I feel that this course is necessary for all levels of business.
Importance of good writing
I agree that writing is extremely important in the business world and is the one thing that is most often over looked.
I can say that writing is extremely important out of experience. I am currently working in India at my fathers company, since all the employees here are not well versed in English we have to edit all the communication that leaves the office. I have seen the difference in the responses we get based on how the letter or e-mail was written. We have even started a small class in the morning to help our staff improve their writing skills
Also as students who are usually always looking for jobs, we have seen the importance of being able to write a good resume. At a career fair I think the two most important things you need to do are be confident and have a good resume. I think your confidence is what the employer will remember and your resume is what will re-enforce your worth.
While reading the blog the value of being able to write properly became more apparent to me and reading about rhetoric helped me realize the components a good professional document should contain.
Communication in Business World
Effective communication is the backbone of the business world in this advanced technological era. I completely agree to the importance given to professional writing above and yet, I am compelled to say that it deserves even more careful thought and importance.
Lately, I have been talking to a lot of professionals from different firms and all of them are always stressing on the importance of having effective professional writing skills. From my understanding, I would not be lying if I said that effective professional writing skills are the most sought after asset in the business world these days. From developing strategic congruence among divisions of a firm to shooting an e-mail, professional writing plays the most important role in getting the intended message across. Since these days; majority of business communication takes place electronically and not face to face, effective professional writing skills are a major ingredient to a successful career. With this online course, I definitely intend to make myself a better communicator over the internet and in the real world as well.
Reply to Welcome Blog
Writing is a concept that is invaluable it the workforce of today's society. Being able to communicate through documents and written work is very important. However, the tools needed to develop these desired documents may lack in many interviewees. Interviewing out of state is a perfect example, more specifically the cover letter. Since a recreuiter will not be able to meet with you face to face initially, we must put an emphasis on our best qualities. We have failed to market ourselves effectively if this document is anything but perfect. The importance of being able to express your thoughts and ideas on paper needs to be recognized.
Writing professionally
Writing professionally is a very important asset in the world today. Some people may overlook the importance of professional writing, but it has become a strong point in business.
This article made me understand the importance of this class, and what it has to offer to me. It can help me improve my skills and better incorporate my knowledge into writing. If an employee cannot demonstrate communication through writing, they will suffer amongst others that can communicate effectively. I feel that this class will help me to stand out among others in the business world with knowledge writing skills.
Professional Writing
After reading the blog my thoughts on the importance of writing professionally were strongly reinforced. I did not realize , however, the amount of emphasis businesses put on these writing skills. The information from the case studies suggesting some professionals spend up to 60% of their time writing was alarming.
In discussions with professionals in my field (Turf Science) it has been made clear that being able to present ideas and information to a board of directors or the front office is extremely important. These are the people that make the budgets for their particular businesses. This fact illustrates how benefical knowing your audience and using the correct context can be in persuading an employer to budget for project they might not see as essential.
I look forward to learning how to write more professionally. The comments from the Career Journal made be realize I can be at a significant advantage when applying for a job if I display good writing skills.
Professional Writing
This blog could not apply to me more at this point and time. Currently, I work for a technology company that sells point of sales systems, ATMS, self-serve kiosks, etc. I was asked 2 days ago to complete a 10 page professional document that goes over the requirements of PCI compliance (a standard for anyone in the payment industry).
As I first sat down to start this document I realized the lack of professional document writing that I have. I have written more stories than needed, critiqued movies and books, developed satirical works, but never really wrote something a corporation could use as their "white pages."
This blog along with my recent situation proves how necessary it is to be able to write in a clear, concise manner. The audience and context are the strongest concepts of rhetoric that I have to consider in this project I’m undertaking. However, it will be important that I do not overlook the ethos and kairos as well.
One more point I feel I should make about professional writing is that people from different backgrounds and careers have varied ways of writing/interpreting things. For example, I find that in most cases sales people interpret or write e-mails, documents, etc. in different ways than engineers. I think that being able to differentiate between different styles and “speak” their language is an invaluable tool that I hope to pick up with this class.
Laura Lewandowski
The importance of Business writing
After reading the blog, I realized the importance of professional writing in the business world. The ability to express myself clearly and communicate well with others may not seem so crucial, but I believe those skills are greatly needed in almost every daily life. From example journals I could understand lacking writing skill can cause serious problem because business world is keep emphasizes the importance of writing skill asking candidates able to write professionally and well as they can. Especially being an international student, not fluent in English yet, I experienced that the results and responses turns out different depending on your communication skills. While I build up my writing skill from this course I hope I can better persuade others and deliver my ideas clearly.
Instructor Blog #1: Welcome to Professional Writing
I had to chuckle as I was reading through the article as there were a few references to "anything outside liberal arts majors". That’s the funny thing about public relations. We seem to be outside of management but not quite liberal arts. Either way you cut it, communication, and the bulk of it being written, is the number one thing employers look for. I have found out over the past year just how true that little fact is. When you interview for a job in a PR firm, immediately after a traditional interview there is a writing test. Some of the sections are easier than others (like most tests), but that is neither here nor there. The point is that my field uses written communication as a foundation for internal and external relations and without those you HAVE no business. Period.