The Art of Professional and Technical Writing

Professional writers are vital contributors to the communication process within an organization. We are liaisons between ideas and people, and are responsible for informing, entertaining, or persuading target audiences to make decisions or take action through the art of rhetoric. Our most important task is to successfully transmit usable data in efforts by means of multiple facets to plan and present information deliberately. We must strive to rationalize our purpose for writing, gain public confidence, and maintain ethical and legal accountability, with each element coexisting to deliver rhetoric effectively. Methods for overcoming obstacles we as professional communicators face have always been of interest to me.

From my introduction to Big Chief tablet paper and over-sized pencils as a young scholar, I became fascinated with the power of text and the impact words have on readers. While most children dreamt of securing a position in the medical or legal profession, among other lucrative career choice, I fantasized having a writing career. It was not atypical to find me positioned in a pecan tree with book, tablet, and pencil in hand composing the next best seller. And as technologies evolved to typewriters and then computers, I remained loyal to the compilation of words. I previously and continue to be memorized of how texts captivates and affect readers’ lives. We share a sense of ownership – one of encoder/decoder of messages.

I felt it essential to impart upon others expertise I had acquired through vast study of literature, academic, and professional writing and became an English/language arts teacher. Middle and high school students needed to only know basics, such as syntax, but I challenge them to explore creative, proposal, and other writing styles. Yet, I maintained faithful to my writing career through contract employment during extended academic breaks until I utilized my talents in full-time positions within disparate industries. I have writing and edited educational test competitions and SAT prep training material, agriculture instructional manuals to submit for EPA approval, documents for asbestos court proceeding, marketing and promotional materials for corporate clients, and so much more. Thus, I have demonstrated high comprehension level of governing standards and regulatory guidelines pertaining to confidentiality, copyright laws, and internal organizational policies.

Understanding various style guides, including The Associated Press, The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage, and The Chicago Manual of Style, has been instrumental to my writing and editing accomplishments. In addition, I own an array of resources – from Words into Type to The Copyeditor’s Handbook – and a wealth of materials in support of online writing. Formerly considered a tool, social practice within print and electronic arenas initiated a transformation in writing comparable with circumstances that arise due to informational availability and usage. I understand that there are significant differences in both writing mediums, and I take great measures to remain abreast of innovative practices through professional development or subscriptions to various industry-related publications. In the past, I have relied on my knowledge of technologies consisting of Microsoft Office, familiarity of HTML and visual software, Final Cut Pro, and other applications most of which I learned via on-the-job experience, exhibiting the desire to advance my skill set.

However, awareness of the conventions of writing and technologies does not make an effective professional writer. Productive writers must identify with and create social space with readers. Writers participate in research and risk assessment to situate readers in efforts to determine social and visual aspects of texts. Investigating cultural constraints that alter readers’ reactions permits information to become more usable. I am a researcher of not only information to initiate the communication process, but also of my target audience to engage reader interaction permitting texts to be well-received. Writing comprises perceptions and relationships built from idea conception to document development and beyond. It is necessary to view readers as participants in the writing process, and my foremost consideration is to develop user-centered documents while simultaneously adhering to organizational agenda to influence readers’ decisions and actions.

Writing is not merely an art form or a career choice. Writing is a lifestyle – a proficiency that continuously evolves. I intend to perpetually hone my talents for the betterment of my readership and organization encompassing skill, accountability, willingness to produce social space to enhance information exchange. In the near future, I anticipate securing a role as Senior Writer/Editor within an ever-changing, innovative company producing highly effective documents that greatly impact the everyday lives of audiences.

Document Redesign

Original Flyer

Redesigned Flyer

Ethical Considerations in Scientific Writing - Annotation

Ethical Considerations in Scientific Writing is a collaborative piece authored by four writers who elaborates of the occurrence of misconduct in research and writing scientific documents. They examine two common issues related to writing ethics – plagiarism, including self-plagiarism, and authorship – geared toward those within the scientific and medical fields, with particular focus on relaying concepts of inappropriate writing patterns within higher education. The article used statistical data, case studies, and details emphasizing writing standards that are enforced by high-profiled U.S. agencies to further prove credibility to its audience.

Plagiarism, as defined by the U.S. Office of Science and Technology, is identified as the [intentional or unintentional] appropriation of another person’s ideas, processes, results or words without giving appropriate credit, including those obtained through confidential review of others’ research proposal and manuscripts (1). One case study illustrating this definition was that of a dissertation student who quoted information from a source, slightly paraphrased the work, and failed to provide citations because he believed the information to be common knowledge (1). The article employs statistical data to enhance information authenticity by including results from a 2000 through 2010 investigation of the rate of plagiarism. It also suggests that there is an increased number of plagiarism cases among international writers, for there are no common or globalized standards regarding such issue. 

In addition, a possible language barrier may make it impossible for those from international countries to paraphrase information obtained through sources (1-2). Self-plagiarism is another form of plagiarism that is considered a less severe ethical breach but one just the same. This is determined when an author copies large portions of an original document and submit it for publication and as a new idea (2). One plausible solution the article recommends is to utilize plagiarism detection software to verify original works before submitting a piece for publication (2).

The second section of the article talks about authorship. Ethical Considerations in Scientific Writing describes a case study concerning a junior investigator preparing a case series and review article in collaboration with a student and college (2-3). Authorship is to be determined in terms of hierarchy, information contribution, and integrity. The article includes a bulleted list by Kevin Strange recognizing several forms of authorship abuse, such as intimidation to gain authorship, inappropriate credit to illegitimate contributors, and wrongful denial of authorship (2). Many methods for avoiding misconducts such as these are also documented within the article. Overall, Ethical Considerations in Scientific Writing serves as not only an essential resource to writers in the science and medical sectors, but ethical issues and standards discussed transcend across all industries employing professional writers and researchers.

Like Ethical Considerations in Scientific Writing, Ethical Issues in Writing and Publishing by Cynthia R. King, PhD, NP, RN, FAAN also delves into to similar attributes of plagiarism and authorship in the medical writing arena. King states, “Awareness of appropriate etiquette is not enough, however, as ethical issues may arise during the publication process, including fraudulent publication, plagiarism, duplicate publication, authorship, and conflict of interest.” Furthermore, King studies writing and publishing regulations of The Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, and Office of Research Integrity, among other agencies, to further prove that an author loses credibility and his reputation if ethical criteria are not met (2-5). Yet, this article places extensive emphasis on ethical issues centering conflict of interest for authors.

Two major areas Ethical Issues in Writing and Publishing defines are intellectual and financial conflict of interest. Intellectual conflict of interest includes situations in which general knowledge may contradict what is reported (8). King goes on to provide examples of this concept such as nurses/authors incorrectly cite their references or citing references that do not adequately support their points (8). Financial conflict of interest surfaces when ad financial association exists between the author(s) and a commercial company (9). A sample of this type of conflict supplied in the article is when an author may have received consistent financial support from a journal or drug company for their works and its results (9). There are guidelines established to prevent such conflicts and King thoroughly cites references leading readers to more in-depth research on matters presented throughout her article.

Pearson Education, one of the leading providers of educational materials, technologies, and assessment services, further examines such guidelines referenced in Ethical Issues in Writing and Publishing through its semi-interactive Website. Pearson conveys various methods for successfully adhering to ethics and writing. The site breaks down information into easily accessible chunks in terms of links correlating with Plagiarism and Academic Honesty and Guidelines for Citing Others’ Work, among sections. The site contains a wealth of information to be utilized by professionals within their company, but also serves as a resource for you academic writers as well.

The segment titled Copyright, Plagiarism, and Fair Use of Other’s Writings initiate language as a share resource that is borrowed from by writers who need to be aware of the ethical and legal guidelines involving fair use of others’ work – give credit where credit is due (1). The Web page continues with defining copyright laws/intellectual property, the fair use provision plagiarism in the work place and copyright and electronic sources. Copyright and regarding electronic sources is an ongoing topic due to advancements in technology. 

Most agree that electronic texts – e-mails, Web pages, electronic texts, and images – are copyrighted, although laws are in a state of flux at this time (3). The Web page leads readers to acquired deeper meaning of the controversial ethical issue, but one of the most exhilarating offerings promoted by the site is the discussion questions on real-world examples (4-5). Discussions questions consist of problems revolving texts, visual, and informational recycling infringements, which all serves as a semi-interactive basis for anyone requiring more details about ethics and professional and academic writing.

Alicia McBride evaluates the power technical communicators exhibit when making ethical decisions about their work in Toward a Sense of Ethics for Technical Communication. McBride perceives moral implications as a major topic of consideration in technical communication journals, with most articles beginning with the assumption that communicators do not have much power to make ethical decisions about their work (1). This article contains excerpts contributed by writers in various technical industries including engineering, and analyzes their notions of taking an ethical stance while effectively providing a service to their company and audience. 

McBride offers ideas on how best practices can be developed in support of Aristotle’s concept of ethos. By applying unified values, an ethical character, and instituting his/her own voice and sense of ethics, writers can determine the ethos essential to convey (3-5). The writer will, additionally, be more prepared to face corporate challenges that may arise, for example, filtering information on a need-to-know basis, which could potentially be harmful to readers (7). The article recognizes writers as encoders and colleagues, demonstrating fairness and ownership in writing (8-10).

All in all, Toward a Sense of Ethics for Technical Communication is an extensive researched account of ethical practice in technical writing on a more personal approach. McBride gives many resources, documentation, and corporate viewpoints to elaborately support her observations. The article clearly allows writers to understand their ethical role in interactions with readers and negotiation procedures regarding conflicting perspectives in the field (11).

Similar to topics addressed in Toward a Sense of Ethics for Technical Communication, blogger and freelance writer Jennifer Mattern explains an experience she encountered that led her to choose her reputation and professional ethics above financial gain. Why I Gave up an $18k Writing Gig over Professional Ethics, Mattern tells how corporate reconstruction initiated changes to one of the Web sites she writes for made her uncomfortable (1). Keyword targeting, obscenely repetition, and other modifications made were questionable but there was nothing she could do about it (1-2).

The article continues by notifying writers of techniques to employ if faced with ethical challenges. “My ethical standards don’t have to be the same as yours,” Mattern insisted, which marketed her credibility on the subject (2). Her insight depicted the fluidity of professional and personal ethics. Following the content, readers posted comments and highlights from their professional experiences, along with alternatives for handling particular situations that places a writer’s ethics on the line.

The common theme among all articles cited is that writers must be professionally and personally responsible for their writings, liability in terms of legal compliance and reputation, and individual belief systems to become and remain successful professional writers. Each document observes pressures writers face and the policies by which they must adhere. They resort to using statistical data, researched information, and authentic resources to build upon each idea presented, and provide the insightful information for novice and seasoned writers across the professional sphere.

References

Carve, Jane D., Ben Dellva, Patricia J. Emmanuel, and Ritu Parchure. “Ethical Considerations in Scientific Writing.” U.S. National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health. Web. Jul-Dec 2011: 124-128. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3195176/

“Copyright, Plagiarism, and Fair Use of Other’s’ Writing.” Pearson Education. Web. 2005. http://wps.pearsoncustom.com/pls_1256647969_pwo/217/55692/14257259.cw/index.html#electronic

King, Cynthia. “Ethical Issues in Writing and Publishing.” Oncology Nursing Society. Web. http://www.ons.org/Publications/CJON/AuthorInfo/WritingSupp/Ethics

  

Mattern, Jennifer. “Why I Gave up an $18k Writing Gig Over Professional Ethics.” All Freelance Writing.  All Freelance Writing. Web. 18 Sept, 2012.

http://allfreelancewriting.com/2012/09/18/freelancing/business-career/writing-gig-professional-ethics/

  

McBride, Alicia. “Towards a Sense of Ethics for Technical Communication.” Orange Journal. Web. 10 Apr, 2005. http://orange.eserver.org/issues/3-2/mcbride.html

Creating Social Space through Communication

Professional writers utilize various methods to effectively communicate information, instructions, and persuasive information to influence actions or decisions. Their primary objective is to “produce relationships between people and ideas,” while simultaneously enhancing their organizations’ reputation (319). Such relationships can be defined as concrete or abstract and represent social space (320). Writers not only initiate connections through the creation of user-centered documents, however, they tend to form these networks before the final documentation even reach their audiences.

Workplace environments act as catalysts between a successfully written document and its targeted audience. Traditional work settings employ a division of labor model project managers and personnel specializing in certain aspects of a project. Mangers are charged with planning, organizing, commanding, and controlling actions – bureaucratic management. Whereas each employee has particularly individualized responsibilities related to project outcomes (322). Yet, more companies are experimenting with instituting an innovative model that promotes collaboration throughout all phases of each project – integrated teams. Integrated teams are composed of individuals from various specialties who share in a holistically determined effort to complete a task (324). Writers are then able to contribute their expertise, acquire new skills, and partake in team decisions to support documentation development (324-334).

In addition to orchestrating networks, professional writers create social space with readers. Writers participate in research to situate readers in efforts to determine social and visual aspects of texts. Investigating cultural constraints that alter readers’ reactions permits information to become more usable. When readers cannot make meaning of texts, writers have either constructed ineffective information, chose an inadequate method for presenting ideas, or did not target the audience accordingly – a perspective supported by the current Society for Technical Communication’s Code for Communicators (350).  

Professional writers engage reader interaction by means of text when communication can be well-received. Professional writers, therefore, engage in risk communication as the result of either transferring information to a public that understands and accepts it, or in some formulations, persuading the public to accept a given risk (366). Identifying constraints is an approach of risk assessment to define and negotiate communication, which becomes a web, a network, an interactive process of exchanging information, opinions, and values among all involved parties (368).  To achieve effective social space with readers must not separate risk assessment from risk communication. It is essential to view readers as participants in the writing process.

Although there are numerous techniques professional writers can employ to construct social space in various facets and environments, their foremost consideration should be to develop user-centered documents while simultaneously adhering to organizational agenda. This balance correlates with their ethical perspective and responsibility to all stakeholders – management, integrated teams, and readers. By instituting a form of collaboration across the board, technical writers are better equipped to produce usable texts enhancing communication to influence readers’ decisions and actions.

Technological Advancements in Writing

Prior to the invention of the alphabet, writing systems posed as complex means of communication in which decoders, or readers, found it difficult to interpret information and meanings (221). Conventions defining the formation symbols and transmission of ideas through technological resources, namely publishing technologies, represent a social force impacting the way texts are understood and used by audiences. It is the responsibility of professional writers to remain aware of such conventions, ethical accountability, and socially situated construct and deliver messages by means that can be accepted by their readers.

Texts must first be recognized as not only a writing system, but as a technological practice to connect with readers and engage their comprehension of what is being presented. During the 9^th century in cultures dominated by prealphabetic scripts, reading was restricted to specialists, lacked a means of achieving social action, and was difficult to interpret due to an abstract writing system. Symbols and words served as recognizable discourse in consideration of those looking to acquire and preserve power (222). Then a shift in communication emerged as technologies further developed, thus leading writers to switch from being gatekeepers to publishers of texts.

Innovations allowed writers to communicate ideas to “others.” However, texts had to be read orally. The lack of lowercase letters, spaces between words, and punctuation to separate statements, posed as time consuming and physically exhausting to readers. Writers reevaluated how texts were transmitted to audiences and instituted those attributes to permit silent reading, dramatically increasing the amount of text that could be processed (224). Yet, the traditional method for producing text by hand was unable to satisfy the demand for literature. Intellectuals began questioning and providing technological answers in response to those demands. In addition, readers also required a more advanced approach for creating their own documents, crossing the boundaries from decoder to encoder.

Developments including letterpress printing, the typewriter, lithography, and xerography brought writing from merely representing a tool for communicating to a social practice that was technologically founded. Letterpress printing used hand-drawn letterforms models that had to be built, forced against paper, and fed into then pulled off a pressed. Although laborious, this innovation established book-making as commercial rather than an artistic activity (225).  The typewriter acted as an alternative to handwriting for the everyday publisher; it was an artificial machine for impressing or transcribing letters on paper or parchment (226). Lithography took publishing to a level of using chemicals to produce text, and xerography made offset publishing through electrostatic printing (227-232). Each technology was created to address the increased public and commercial demands of texts, and counteracted the limited functionality of one another.

Eventually, social practice invigorated publishing and printing trends and lead to computerized advancements in the field. Structure then became a new market within itself. Screen-based and innovative techniques regarding printed texts changed the way information was communicated and interpreted. Whether embedded or interactive, writers and readers alike had more control over the different situation for which texts was used (234-241). Depended upon the situation, texts can be access for extended reading, such as with printed materials, or for quickly accessible instruction, such as with software tutorials via screen. Either way, readers of all texts must navigate to diffuse collections of information (242).

Due to advance technologies in communication, ideas are more easily available to individuals. Copyright laws were originally established to institute an ignoble desire for censorship and protect profits by prohibiting unlicensed competition (255). The new electronic environment, commonly utilized by the public, has initiated and redefined intellectual property and copyright laws. Such laws now protect the labor behind idea development rather than the idea itself. Permission must be acquired before reciting another writer’s work in most situations. However, lines that define copyright laws are often indistinct, and issues are frequently judged per case, rather than on a one-size-fits-all basis to convict infringements.

Increased public demand of texts, from writing systems to interpretation to presentation – had greatly influenced technological advancements throughout history. Developments represent new and improved construction in response to problems encountered from traditional technologies. Formerly considered a tool, social practice within print and electronic arenas initiated a transformation in writing comparable with circumstances that arise due to informational availability and usage.

Ethics in Professional Writing

Professional writers are tasked with informing, entertaining, or persuading an audience to make a decision or take an action. They must consider multiple facets to plan and present information deliberately. Such communicators strive to rationalize their purpose for writing, gain public confidence, and maintain an ethical accountability, with each element coexisting to deliver rhetoric effectively.

Writers are, in fact, rhetoricians delivering messages that involve potentially conflicting agendas and interests, with objectivity, clarity, and neutrality serving merely as stylistic devices (172). Successful writers are often plagued with ethical dilemmas and conflicting demands that can affect their ideas visibility and authority, leading to diminished credibility and perceptions of irresponsibility from their targeted market and organizational standpoint.  

Taking into account that rhetoric is founded on elocution, presentation, logic, truths, and creativity, how does a writer commit to and ethically bridge together the subject matter, company, and audience in support of a common objective?  Information serves corporations and public interests. Expediency and objectivity play important roles in balancing those interests and can work to conceal processes (185-186). Professional writers determine deliberate disclosure of information to facilitate logos but utilize pathos and ethos to provide the impetus to act (187).

It is ethics that define the behaviors of the writer, company, and ultimately an entire culture or audience. Finding the most suitable means of communicating an intended message it based on thought and reason rationalized by ethical actions. The character of a corporation, in addition to its overall objectives, is demonstrated throughout every writing stage initiated by professional communicators.  Standards and legal obligations also promote ethical interactions with audiences in terms of advice, intervention, and protection, and also involve interweaving opposing principles (209). This instance further implicates the writer’s need for careful deliberation. Judgments must be made by the communicator on behalf of the audience within legal constraints to appropriately and creatively divulge pertinent information as to limit lawful liabilities.

In retrospect, conventions for print and electronic publications differ in the sense that each has its own set of standards for which ethics are based upon. Social norms and ethical behaviors may clash. Therefore, writers focus on what is allowed within the respective writing environment when attempting to remain ethically compliant while simultaneously adhering to message delivery techniques in the form of rhetoric. 

Does a relationship emerge between professional writing, rhetoric, and ethics? The principles of effective communication can derive from the general characteristics (structural, professional, cultural, and personal, and needs of the appropriate social collectives and of the people who work in them (173). There is truly a hierarchy in which professional writers should consider before composing documents; however, all components bridge together to equal one whole eventually. Neither can effectively exist without the other.

Relationship between Professional Writing and Rhetoric

Classical scholars conveyed varying ideologies of the relationship between professional writing and rhetoric.  Some studiers of the art of discourse believed the two stood as separate disciplines, where a second set of theories emerged and identified both specialties to be counterparts, yet able to thrive independently. A third group of intellectuals further developed the notion that professional writing and rhetoric cohabitate; one could not thrive without the presence of the other. These exploratory thinkers employed professional writing as the means of transmitting messages to an audience and rhetoric symbolizing creative methods to translate that information.

When professional writing is considered a rhetorical practice and art, the perceived role of the writer can be established. (45-46). Faigley elaborates on three major theoretical perspectives – textual, individual, and social – to institute the relationship. First, the textual encompasses features of language and genre, readability, and style and format the writer uses to communicate information (48-49). The individual perspective is fluid; they change based on behavior, the development of cognitive thinking, and the evaluation of the writing task (49). The social perspective is impacted by interaction within an environment, comprehension of the philosophy of language, and the understanding of cultural relationships – discourse community (50-52). Since communities change and overlap, academic, work, and public environments, the relationship between professional writing and rhetoric must be modified to accommodate each audience and the level of which information is transmitted to varying audiences.

Miller further constructs the presumed relationship by determining the practical and conceptual application of professional writing (61-63). Richard Bernstein states, “The practical man is one who is not concerned with theory (even anti-theoretical or anti-intellectual), who knows how to get along in the rough and tumble of the world,” (61). To be practical, is to accomplish a task or goal effectively and efficiently, an action founded on directness. On the other hand, a conceptual understanding provides justification for a necessary action. Problems and goals are identified and the appropriate action weighed. Why is this essential to technical writing? Technical writing, in this case, is thought incorporate the practicality of an action due to a well-founded reason for the action. In other words, a writer must know why a message needs to be transmitted, the objectives for writing, and methods for presenting the information in a practical way to evoke the audience’s understanding through rhetorical communication.

Furthermore, Miller examines practice as descriptive or prescriptive – what is and what ought to be – within higher education versus the professional arena (64-67). Students are often equipped with a theoretical understanding of writing but lack consideration of common practice. Institutions have afforded students an opportunity to connect the relationship between vocational preparedness and cultural awareness (65). Work settings create a cultural standard that does not always coincide with best practiced theories. Students who are unable to (and sometime unwilling) integrate their ethics, textbook knowledge, and organizational cultural often struggle with identifying the relationship between professional writing and rhetoric (69).

Regli bases the relationship on knowledge, collaboration, and application in the writing field. Knowledge has typically been thought of as a noun and to some technical writers the transmittal of information in no more than seen as a product, an invention (71). However, the transmittal of knowledge is considered a verb to the rhetor. Rhetors treat knowledge as an activity, elaborate process of developing, producing, and testing (73). To master a connection of writing and rhetoric, collaboration, communication, and articulation must occur (74-77). A problem must be identified, followed by conducting analyses of the situation, audience, and structure to adhere to constraints and satisfy expectations. Succeeding these steps, changes or revisions can be successfully articulated prior to production – the representation of knowledge.

Slack, Miller, and Dock explore the relevance of the communication theory, providing the framework of the transmission view of communication, the interpretation and reinterpretation of messages, and the articulation aspect of communication (81-94). This theory credits technical writers as mediators of communication through interpreting, articulating, and transmitting information to an audience via power, authority, and expertise in their respective industries. They are foremost neutral facilitators of message and negotiate the relationship with receivers of information to avoid miscommunication (81-82).

Since communication is not a linear act and more of a negotiation, both the sender and receiver can possess power over meanings, either negative or positive; communication is an ongoing struggle for power, unevenly balanced toward encoding (87). The sender has power when the message is encoded effectively and the receiver respond in the intended manner (83). The receiver establishes power when the message interpreted appropriately and can initiate a correlating action, or practice (86-89). When effective articulation, or rearticulation, occurs meaning and discourse are transformed (90). In cases where messages are not encoded or decoded properly, technical writers reevaluated and revise information. They edit transmissions in support of ever-changing social practices, cultures, and situations to maximized application.

Writing is producing useful context allowing senders to express and readers in specific situations to interpret messages (105). Organizational and rhetorical situations guide decision making (118). The culture and values, as well as ethics help formulate writers’ ability to communicate within given situations. Yes, they can follow a communication model and previous document designs to transmit information; however, when writers do not have full knowledge of industry standards and organizational beliefs, his ability to convey information may fail. Rules are constraints that writers must find creative ways to conform to and overcome to limit personal and organizational liability. They must contend with personal, social, and situational authority, with each building on the other 124-125). Effective writers employ such strategies in a rhetorical manner; thus, classical intellectuals’ ideas regarding the relationship between professional writing and rhetoric have resurfaced, and still serve as models for industry application to this day.

Discovering Professional Writing

The Art of Professional Communication

Professional writing a form of communicating information – instructions, processes, and arguments, among other directives – to an audience in efforts to influence their decisions or actions. It is the literature of science, technology, and systems development, from journalism to advertising, copy writing, and other technical and nontechnical prose. This art of written communication depends on clear, concise language to express easily understood information to an intended audience.

Professional writing relates to the discipline of rhetoric, the act of persuading or informing readers to initiate an approach, in one direction or the other, while considering the measures in which the outcome will impact their existence. Careers and personal lives are affected by word choices and meanings, and empower audiences to bring into account their experiences, projections, and reluctance to embrace what is being advocated through written communication.

Complexities of Communicating to Audiences

Language in Translation

Language may not effectively translate across cultures, international borders, and genders. Therefore, one primary element of professional writing is to consider connotation and denotation in relation to the audience’s innate and developed belief systems, as well as traditions. Readers of communicative pieces are not necessarily located nationally or within an internal organization; global diversity exists. Colors, phrases, and images all suggest varying meanings in disparate parts of the world, in addition to vast nationalities. To appropriately address the target audience while delivering an intended message represents the complexity of professional prose.

Some commonalities, such as figurative language and idioms, are not particularly understood by every reader. Writing in non-English languages tends to be more formal than in English, and some languages rely heavily on passive voice (Weymouth 144). Documents translated in other languages pose special challenges. In translation or in a different cultural context, some words have insulting or negative connotations; for example, in certain cultures, “male” and “female” refer only to animals (Coe 17).

Humor, or lack thereof, also leaves room for messages to misconstrued data. Readers can find humor to be offensive in its approach to information exchange. In appropriate word choice, unforgiving jokes, and imprecise terms and phrases distract the audience interrupting flow and clarity. Although professional communication does not have to be uninteresting to be deemed instructional, credible, or informative, readers are unable to witness body language proposing humor. Avoiding the risk of alienating readers is achieved by focusing on inflections in tone and writing style rather than the use of comedy in written communication.

Experiences and Attitudes

Since audiences reflect upon their experiences and traditional construct when reviewing written communication, they also bring along with them biased attitudes. Our accumulated knowledge and experiences, beliefs and values, attitudes and roles – in other words, our cultures – shape us as individuals and differentiate us as a people. Cultures differ over which behaviors seen appropriate for social interaction, business relationships, contract negotiations, and communication practices (Lannon and Gurak 4-5). An imperative movement toward understanding the complexities of communicating with diverse audiences must concern itself with responding sensitively to global differences.

Tone

Tone can affect professional writers’ ineptness to relate information to audiences. When speaking to someone in person, expressions, body language, and other visual cues are signals for the listener – and the presenter. Each interacts with the other and has the opportunity to alter comments and vocal tones due to such indications. However when communicating through written language, words, data, diagrams, charts, and images do not enable visual or auditory clues. Professional writers must establish and maintain a “you” perspective, be polite and tactful, use plan English, and decide upon a strategic organizational layout for their work to manage information control of their documents to achieve proper tone (Lannon and Gurak 381-383).

Effective Communication and the Writer

In every industry, nearly every employee compose a professional document, whether an e-mail, a memorandum, or a proposal. However, some highly skilled communicators choose professional writing as a full-fledged career. Fields including marketing and advertising, medicine and health care, academia, law, and so forth, rely on qualified writers to converse with audiences (Lannon and Gurak 5-6). Foremost, successful effective professional writers determine their: 

• Purpose for Writing/Intended Message
• Target Audience
• Possible Counterarguments
• Writing Style 

Purpose for Writing/Intended Message

Professional writers deliver information related to internal/external policies, services or products, financial operations, organizational progress, among other pertinent news. They work with personnel and executives to conclude the information to be presented and how it would be used (Sims 2-3). Once the initial motivation is defined, professional writers are plagued with: 

• Gathering facts or statistic that should be included within the document.
• Determining if the document should exhibit more visuals – diagrams, charts, and images – rather than statements.
• Realizing information that should be emphasized rather than passively addressed.  

Analyzing the Audience

Professional writers must keep in mind their target audience, whether they are writing for the majority or for the minority. In other words, they identify readers who will be in the position to enforce a decision or promote an action. Writers also ascertain backgrounds and experiences readers have, as well as the audience’s level of expertise of the subject matter, and a multitude of other impacting factors (Sims 4-7).

When trying to persuade the general public within predetermined demographics to purchase a product, writers often use cues and visuals, in addition to verbiage from a particular era. These cues serve as manipulations and promote a sense of nostalgia to influence an audience’s decision or action.

Professional writers who need to communicate good or bad news to employees – from hourly to lower management – usually produce e-mail, memos, or short letters to be distributed internally. Yet to provide explanations to executive teams and external partners, writers tend to delve deeper in more confidential data from company records. They perform in-depth research to collect specifics, alter industry language/jargon, and procedure with more formal documents related to operational strategies (Lannon and Gurak 53-56). 

Because writers are tasked with modifying what is being presented and the measures they employ to present information, it is essential to understand individual audiences in order to utilize motivational techniques to acquire desired results in support of their writings.

  

Possible Counterarguments

Effective written communicators consider an audience’s level of skepticism about an issue (Lannon and Gurak 583). Professional writers place attempts to think as their audience and formulate questions such as: 

• Why should a customer purchase product from Company A when Company B is less expensive?
• How will adding the expense of hiring and training new personnel benefit efficiency – and increase revenue?
• Will productivity improve if the company purchases the new equipment? If so, what will be the projected improvement?
• If the grant is approved, how will the funds be used and in what ways will local communities benefit?
• Which numbers listed represent third-quarter growth? 

Professional writers determine counterarguments during the research phase, gather data to answer inquiries, and coordinate cumulative documents to proactively address those doubts. They are constantly thinking ahead to prevent delayed process implementations or sales strategies that could take effect immediately.

  

Writing Style

Once preliminary SME collaboration and initial research has been conducted, the writing stage commences. Successful professional writers coordinate an indirect or direct approach to deliver to their intended audiences. This stage comprises an introduction with brief background leading to the subject matter, a message, argument, or proposal, advantages or disadvantages, costs and statistics, previous methods attempted, and other relative factors.

They provide supporting evidence through ethical, clear, concise language catering to their audience and perspective to the industries for which they write. Professional writers take great measures to make certain statements are not choppy, unordered, or too wordy, which eliminates waste and additional printing expenses (Rude 382). They also ensure documents are visually appealing, including white space, headings, and fonts and sizes that enhance readability and flow (Rude 115-116).

Editing is usually the final phase to the writing process. Professional writers evaluate semi-final copies followed by reorganizing sections, and in many cases, submittal to a secondary department for final edit (Rude 240).  Afterward, audiences are then able to analyze the information presented to formulate a decision, initiate an action, and occasionally, both.

Works Cited

Rude, Carolyn, D. Technical Editing. New York: Longman, 2002. Print

Lannon, John M. and Laura J. Gurak. Technical Communication. New York: Longman, 2011. Print.

Blake, Gary and Robert W. Bly. The Elements of Technical Writing. New York: Macmillan. Print.

Sims, Brenda R., Technical Writing. Dallas: University of Texas Press, 1995. Print.

Defining Rhetoric

“The duty of Rhetoric is to apply Reason to Imagination for the better moving of the will.”

-          Francis Bacon

From the Middle Ages to the Renaissance Era to modern day, the characterization and purposefulness of rhetoric motivated continuous debate in consideration of its functionality within disparate areas of study, including art, science, and philosophy, as well as the role of rhetoric in politics, particularly speech writing.  Early evaluators worked diligently to determine the value, if any, of rhetoric in verbal and written communication. Arduous research, innovative documentation, and elaborate explanations formed collaborative definitions of the term, as fathers of philosophical thinking emphasized an assigned meaning of rhetoric.

Corax of Syracuse, founder of the art of rhetoric, instituted eloquent language as a method of engaging story telling – comprised of an introduction, an argument or proof, and a conclusion – established for citizens representing themselves within the legal system, and based on the perception that information presented could not be proven as absolute certainty (12). Later Plato accepted rhetoric to be grounded in philosophy, dejecting the untruths in place of well-established proofs. Aristotle classified rhetoric for its means of persuasion in regards to a particular case, a derivative of Plato’s definition, accomplished through the interworking of style, organization, and delivery (14).

Cicero believed that rhetoric was an integration of natural ability, comprehensive knowledge of liberal arts. According to Cicero, rhetoric was a learned skill only achievable in the course of formal instruction, giving weight on the importance of education during the Middle Ages (15). Peter Ramus placed less emphasis on the rubric of logic and sought to prove rhetoric to encompass only style and delivery (16); Francis Bacon gathered rhetoric to contain a notion of rationality; and George Campbell expressed it in terms or sensory stimulation, common sense, and intuitive sense shared but all humans (17).

There were countless scholars of the art of rhetoric following those intellectual minds; yet, commonalities overlapped. One thinker builds upon or revitalizes an idea manufactured by a rhetoric analyst before him. A thorough understanding of rhetoric is, within itself, complex prior to additions made by individual contributors. Conceptualizations become repetitive in nature and definition.

Rhetoric is art. Rhetoric is communication. Rhetoric is presentation. Rhetoric engages audiences to believe, or at the least, consider messages delivered by its writer, speaker, designer, instructor, political representative, and so on. Rhetoric responds to questions and convinces. It motivates a discussion, exhibits power, and empowers presenters and audiences though words, phrases, and even body language and expressions. Rhetoric engrosses the imagination and leaves more to be imagined due to its creative impact. It teaches logic and defines turning points, delivering audiences from the commencement to the center to the margins of an event. Rhetoric is innate and a learned skill.

How is rhetoric defined? To integrate determinations conceived by originators of the study of rhetoric: simply, yet, elaborately put, rhetoric is a means of relaying visual, verbal, and written information to a critical and decision-making audience, encompassing elocution, presentation, logic, truths, and creativity to form an expressive art of communication.