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last.updated 6.17.08

Professional Writing Pedagogy

Purpose

Because of the different articulations of what professional writing is, as well as what it should be, the pedagogy for this discipline has been designed to achieve multiple outcomes–from effective and efficient communication to an understanding of language's ethical implications in workplace contexts. Today we will examine what professional writing is and what we can learn from this discipline's pedagogy to approach other writing instruction pedagogy?

Discussion I - Guest Speaker: Dr. Romberger

ODU professor Dr. Romberger will speak about the contested defintions and spaces of professional writing and how this affects the discipline's pedagogical issues.

Discussion II - Teaching Professional Writing

The readings for this week prompt us to think the strategies and pedagogical philosophies instructors adopt when they teach students at a distance. We will discuss the following:

• What questions do you have about these articles?
• What are their respective arguments?
• What did you find most interesting about these readings?
• What is professional writing?
• What are the similarities and difference between first-year writing and professional writing? How do these characteristics inform course goals, pedagogy, and assignments?
• When professional writing is taught in a campus's college of business or college of engineering, the pedagogy often focuses upon the best strategies for fulfilling the audience's expectations. However, many business colleges and engineering colleges, by the mandate of accrediting agencies, have had to give the course to writing experts in the English department. Over the last few decades, professional writing instructors in English departments (or freestanding writing programs) have taught the course through a humanities lens that asks students to examine and understand the rhetorical nature of writing. Should the course simply prepare students to write effectively in specific contexts or should it also prepare them for civic responsibility in these contexts?
• Beyond DeVoss, et al.'s recommendation, how might you prepare professional writing students for international contexts? How might you develop a professional writing course that has just second language writers in it?
• What strategies can we take from professional writing pedagogy and apply to other English Studies contexts, such as literature, creative writing, composition, and WAC/WID?

Discussion III: Pedagogy Project to Conference Paper

For ten minutes freewrite about the exigencies or questions you have considered addressing for the Conference Paper. After ten minutes casually talk to your peers about your pedagogy project and relate what you have written, as well as what solicit suggestions for proceeding with the paper's composition.