“To write is human, to write well is divine” (Anonymous, 2010). So, why is it important to write professionally and what constitutes professional writing? Contrary to popular belief, professional writing is not merely being paid to write; although, professional writers are sometimes well paid. In short, professional writing is writing at the next level and with a purpose. It is important to write professionally (knowing the audience, knowing the purpose, being persuasive, and getting to the point) so that one is able to communicate effectively and efficiently. This enables the reader to see the writer as organized, thoughtful, intelligent and worth listening to.
Professional writing is more than just writing with the elementary skills of correct spelling, grammar and sentence / paragraph structure. Aspects of professional writing include all of the elements of the basic writing plus knowing one’s audience, writing with a purpose, being persuasive and delivering the message clearly and concisely. One should also have advanced sentence structure / paragraph structure (for effectiveness). In addition, one should know how to format the medium as a whole for readability. A little forethought through research and organization will go a long way in making the writing look professional.
As part of the organization process, one must know why one is writing the message and what one is hoping to achieve. In addition, one must know the purpose of the message and who the audience will be as well as their potential response. Writing the message with the audience in mind will not only help shape the style of the message itself but the tone in which it is presented as well as the formality of the language used. Tone is the main t...
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...cy, clarity and tone? If the answer is no, then one has mostly likely failed in delivering the message at all if not effectively. In fact, the wrong message was probably delivered. If the answer is yes, then one has not only written well as everyone should, but written professionally.
Professional writing not only has all the aspects of proper writing (spelling, grammar, sentence structure and paragraph structure), but it has the additional thought of advanced writing (research, organization, style, tone, and purpose) with the audience in mind. The purpose of professional writing is to write with a purpose and be able to sell that purpose to the reader effectively and efficiently. Due to the nature of today’s business world, if one is to be successful in selling the purpose of the message, one should write professionally, even when one writes recreationally.
I have always considered writing to be a work in progress, and it constantly can be improved. I have always been devoted to writing. I loved to write stories as a child because I could use my creativity and create any type of character I desired. But I have struggled with writing as well. English has never been my forte. I have received A’s, B’s, C’s, and D’s on essays. I truly never found my voice in writing. In my high school, English teachers would give me mixed reviews on my writing. For example, in 9th grade my English teacher said I was organized with my thoughts, and my writing process was excellent. While in 10th,11th grade ,12th grade my teachers only said negative things about my essays. Not being a strong writer made me despise writing. Then I started to believe that writing is not important. I came to conclusion that writing is not important ,because I am going to be a Math major. I had the mindset that I am not a writer, and will never be a writer. But, my thoughts about writing changed when I started taking English at CSUN.
Why is professional writing declining in America’s workforce? In Sam Dillon’s “What Corporate America Can’t Build: A Sentence”, Dillon blames this decline on the American education system. Dillon writes to administrators and educators in the “Higher Education” section of the New York Times to convince them to increase the teaching of professional writing in schools. Dillon displays to his audience the current business world that students going into the workforce are creating. This initiative is being created so students are prepared when they graduate and go into the workforce and millions of dollars aren’t spent trying to teach students things that they should already know. Dillon persuades educators and administrators to improve professional
I am more knowledgeable about invention, arrangement, style, and delivery, all in which create a masterful piece of text. A few examples, I have learned to organize and construct my thoughts and ideas clearer. I have been taught to use stronger transitions and focus more on the delivery and content of the body element of essays. Further, the instructions and advice I have received throughout this term have influenced my understanding of the purpose of writing. My outlook on writing has been modified by shifting my perception of writing from, writing to prove I am a good writer by perceiving it as using “fluffy” or BIG words to impress my audience. I grew to understanding that good writing’s purpose is to engage the writer by mind-striking ideas and arguments, which therefore will prove and title me as a “good writer”.
Business Communication for Success describes good writing as characterized by “correctness, ease of reading, and attractiveness; and yet also meets the reader’s expectations and is clear, concise, efficient, and effective. The rhetorical elements (logos, ethos, and pathos) and cognate strategies (clarity, conciseness, arrangement, credibility, expectation, reference, tone, emphasis, and engagement) are goals that are achieved in good business writing” [McClean. S., 2010]. Outlined below are 5 of these strategies found in Chapter 4 that are used in business writing:
Sometimes, these thoughts may be viewed differently from other individuals. For example, our class was writing poorly in class and missed basic grammatical errors. This event led to an outburst by our professor expressing signs of disappointment. During his harsh lecture, the professor told us that it was a lack of disrespect towards the writer to have careless work as it showed an attitude towards the audience. As illustrated, writing in an informal way can often be interpreted as an attitude towards an employer. As stated by Wiens, writing is “ a projection of you of your physical absence”(Wiens 500) making any of one’s words significant. With no other form of seeing the individuals, employers can only understand the individuals through their papers. For other instances, Truss has explained that texting has created a form of disrespect in company. In the text, Truss stated that individuals “composing a quick reply while in company is likewise quite rude”(Truss 497), yet these actions continue to be a standard norm. While that is often disrespectful during a family dinner or with friends, it is sadly a normal occurrence. To eventually avoid these situations, individuals need to learn to write and present themselves in an amiable manner. Consequently, these actions should improve the focus on the type of writing presented towards anyone so that it presents itself as
The writing process has many different steps. Each step has unique attributes. People struggle with each of the different steps in the writing process. Some people have trouble thinking of what to write about, others have trouble editing and revising. Wrapping up the writing process with a strong conclusion can also be troublesome for many people. In this paper we will be discussing the first step in the writing process, what professional writers think about how to get started. We will be discussing the important first steps to make the beginning process of writing easier. The steps in the beginning of the writing process include creating a plan, brainstorming and writing a draft.
Writing is an art form that some people are blessed with being naturally talented at, and some individuals must learn and be instructed in order to become a talented writer. In our modern day American society, there is a strong need to have talented writers, so there is a large push to teach writing from grade school all the way up through college. I am an individual who was never naturally good at writing, but I was taught how to be a good writing. From my education I think I have made great strides in my ability and can pick out some qualities that distinguish good writing from bad writing. Overall, good writing takes many forms.
College writing professors teach writing in a variety of ways around the United States and the world. The reason for this is that some professors are trying to teach their students a different aspect of writing an essay or a paper. Two views on this particular subject that I found interesting were Maxine Hairston’s essay "Diversity, Ideology, and Teaching Writing" and also Thomas Bray’s newspaper article "Memorial Day and Multiculturalism". These essays are two totally different views on how diversity and multiculturalism is to be applied in America or taught in the college writing classroom.
Writing can be a very difficult process for those who do not know how to go about constructing
Writing and reading are two essential skills that we need to have in order to succeed in any field of study that we have chosen. Without these two we would not be here, wouldn’t be writing right now and would be considered the lowest class of our society. There are different aspects of writing that each of us may, or may not, excel at. Some of us are creative enough to write short stories or even novels on fiction while others, like me, are better at writing essays. To accomplish this we have all had a person to inspire us, to drive us, to get us over the hump of confidence that we need to succeed. Still to be successful we need to count on ourselves to succeed.
writing” by R. Ramsey, the ability to write competently is a requirement for success in any field.
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
The ability to write well is not a naturally acquired skill; it is usually learned or culturally transmitted as a set of practices in formal instructional settings or other environments. Writing skills must be practiced and learned through experience. Writing also involves composing, which implies the ability either to tell or retell pieces of information in the form of narratives or description, or to transform information into new texts, as in expository or argumentative writing. Perhaps it is best viewed as a continuum of activities that range from the more mechanical or formal aspects of “writing down” on the one end, to the more complex act of composing on the other end (Omaggio Hadley, 1993). It is undoubtedly the act of
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
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.