tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1513616792028141844.post4003731372998903010..comments2023-04-14T06:11:34.177-04:00Comments on Connecting 2 the World: Teaching business writingV Yonkershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11910904367068063554noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1513616792028141844.post-73436847855476796232009-10-10T17:02:42.423-04:002009-10-10T17:02:42.423-04:00@bonya: I think the main role of the writing instr...@bonya: I think the main role of the writing instructor today is to make professionals aware that there is no "good" business writing without having an understanding of the audience, situation, or forms appropriate to communicate a message.<br /><br />I remember when I was teaching esl to business professionals how many of them wrote My dearest sir or madam: as they had been taught in school. Many of the phrases they used were outdated and sounded funny. English as a whole, however, due to the internet, changes based on context. But unfortunately, many writing consultants I have met are tied to the form and format they have been taught is "proper". <br /><br />Students are even worse as they have been told is definitively "correct" or "incorrect". Making them AWARE is half the battle and as you point out, often the only thing you can do within the small time frame.<br /><br />@Ken: I agree. Coming from an interdisciplinary background myself, I have learned to move between those genres. Looking at my blog, I think you can see the different genre depending on the topic, something I've noticed in your own writing. If we could just get more people to learn how to do that!V Yonkershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11910904367068063554noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1513616792028141844.post-55240252940951271612009-10-10T16:32:02.337-04:002009-10-10T16:32:02.337-04:00Kia ora Virginia!
I revisited this post and recog...Kia ora Virginia!<br /><br />I revisited this post and recognised all that you are saying here as rich.<br /><br />I so much agree with you that the digital age could provide a pathway towards breaking down some of the barriers to font, form and format of writing as areas of discernment. I hope it does just that.<br /><br />It has long been an impatience of mine that these genre-barriers should cause breakdown in communication, unnecessarily between people of like minds but who have different backgrounds.<br /><br />Thank you, again, for this incisive post.<br /><br />Catchya laterBlogger In Middle-earthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08722634477041121797noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1513616792028141844.post-64830759457237036582009-10-09T22:13:10.490-04:002009-10-09T22:13:10.490-04:00This is an excellent overview of the writing strat...This is an excellent overview of the writing strategies used to teach business writing today. I've been teaching writing in the business world (after years in academia). I keep up with the research, but I can tell you that a writing consulting working one week with executives, the next week with engineers, and the next with folks from the production line has to assess which strategies work best with which groups. The point I believe is to get writer's to think and problem solve and to do it most efficiently since they write under pressure every day. A writing instructor must give them all kinds of tools (planning sheet, audience analysis, dialog, etc.). In the real world, you have one or two days to change a skill that takes years to develop.bonyahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04056702623263770421noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1513616792028141844.post-7067782325012710232009-02-19T16:31:00.000-05:002009-02-19T16:31:00.000-05:00@Ken: There is a group of literacy/writing theoris...@Ken: There is a group of literacy/writing theorists originally out of Britain and now active in Australia (including Gee) who have been working on Genre Theory. Basically, they contend that students should learn about the various genres of writing, breaking it down to understand the components so they can recreate the genres they need to be successful.<BR/><BR/>Communicators understand this, but go further to try to have students be more flexible and choose those genres that meet the readers' expectations. My understanding of genre theory is that they believe the genre should be taught without that flexibility as readers will expect standard formats. I believe this has changed as we are able to change formats as needed due to the digital age.<BR/><BR/>@ Nancy. Thank-you for the feedback. I think any good writing teacher will use all the best of the theories (yes, even grammar) but usually with tendencies towards one theory. Some writing instructors feel that students need to understand the writing process in order to produce a good piece of writing. Others feel that the finished product is important because it reflects on the writer. Others still feel that the discipline of learning grammar and writing structures will give students the writing structures they need to be successful writers. I myself feel that by focusing on the dialogue between writer and reader, students will understand which grammar is appropriate, the structures that should be used in writing, and use a process that helps them to understand the audience's view point.V Yonkershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11910904367068063554noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1513616792028141844.post-15293694364531947162009-02-17T09:29:00.000-05:002009-02-17T09:29:00.000-05:00Wow...excellent post with a terrific host of sourc...Wow...excellent post with a terrific host of sources. Do you think a process approach and a communicative approach are compatible?Nancy Devinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10895934793253274506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1513616792028141844.post-57691020232562118832009-02-13T23:16:00.000-05:002009-02-13T23:16:00.000-05:00Kia ora VirginiaI have long been aware that style ...Kia ora Virginia<BR/><BR/>I have long been aware that style of writing can be used as a criterion for criticism, as can format (and even font!)<BR/><BR/>Years ago, I used to draft documents for the manager of the training unit I worked in. She was very good at being able to keep me right with how to format what I wrote.<BR/><BR/>Executive summaries were all the rage in those days. Bullets likewise were to the fore, when used properly. I believe these formats are still in favour.<BR/><BR/>All this amused me. It would seem that the research into communication over the decades is right. It's not what's said in words that's so important when communicated - and this applies to spoken as well as written words. <BR/><BR/>It's how it's said, and how it's presented. The verbiage is only conveyed if all these other non-verbal things are administered correctly.<BR/><BR/>And I sigh. To me, it's simply another form of discrimination.<BR/><BR/>Catchya laterBlogger In Middle-earthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08722634477041121797noreply@blogger.com