1 Introduction — Writing at Work: Introduction to Professional Writing
Introduction
When many people think about English majors, they often assume that people with those majors have limited career options, that they will become a teacher or an editor and will likely not make much money. But the truth is that English majors are in high demand! English majors cultivate important skills that employers are looking for: critical and analytical thinking; information literacy and research skills; the ability to connect with a variety of audiences; and, of course, excellent written communication skills! In fact, according to a 2016 study by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, 73.4% of employers want candidates with strong writing skills.[1]
The high demand for those with excellent writing skills also means that people with English degrees can work in almost any industry. Hospitals need medical writers and editors to help doctors with their research papers. Most companies need content strategists and creators for their social media. And yes, English majors do become teachers and editors, but this book will help you see a wide variety of careers and writing an English major can engage in once they graduate. This book will also introduce you to writing skills that will be invaluable no matter what career you end up in, as well as to the critical issues that professional writers encounter, such as those stemming from ethical challenges and workplace cultures.
The first part of this book introduces fundamental principles of professional writing that provide insight into the opportunities for and responsibilities of a professional writer, including a brief overview of the “rhetorical situation”—deliverer, topic, audience, purpose, genre, and context. Chapter 1 focuses on what exactly technical and professional writing is and why it is necessary to communicate professionally no matter what subject you are writing about or mode you are writing in.
Part 2 provides a more detailed overview of the rhetorical situation. The rhetorical situation provides a lens to better understand the circumstances of any sort of writing, including various genres of professional writing. If these elements are understood properly, they can help you make smart writing choices in your work. Because professional and technical writing is so user/reader-centered, the rhetorical situation is an important starting point for any document. This section of the book will outline all the elements of the rhetorical situation and outline how it can be useful.
Part 3 overviews the most common characteristics of writing and communication in the professional writing workplace. Chapter 3 describes the importance of collaboration and approaches to doing it effectively. No writing is done in isolation and the ability to work well with others is an important skill to have. Chapter 4 discusses research, including the kind of research you may do and how to think about research in your professional writing work. Further, Chapter 5 examines design and layout. While the content of any document is important, it is just as important to consider how a writer organizes that information on the page in a way that is easy for readers to navigate. Next, Chapter 6 discusses approaches to editing and revising and explains what the difference is between the two. Lastly, Chapter 7 focuses on presentations as a practice of professional writing.
Part 4, Digital Culture, examines how we use technology, including phones and computers, as a means to produce and distribute messages and information. The chapters here demonstrate the importance of digital writing and how to make content consumption easier for the intended audience. Chapter 8 touches on everyday correspondence, such as emails and texts, in a professional environment. Chapter 9 looks to writing done specifically to be placed online and provides approaches to considering how to incorporate elements of the web, such as headlines, links, and organizational schemes for digital content, into your writing. This chapter also outlines the importance of accessibility, one of the most vital aspects of digital communication, as not everyone may be using the same operating system and some may have issues related to disability. Making sure a text is easy to read and accessible needs to be prioritized.
In Part 5, Ethics of Professional Writing, we cover elements of professional and technical writing that encompass the ethos of the field. In Chapter 10, you will learn how both workplace ethics and ethics within your own writing are extremely important for a professional writer and cannot be overlooked. You will also learn what “ethics” means in the first place, as well as the various situations in which you will have to keep it in mind. This chapter also addresses ways to be a more ethical employee and colleague in the workplace, including the importance of implementing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in the workplace. You will learn how equitable employers are able to outpace their competitors by including unique perspectives from diverse staff that can complete jobs effectively. Diversity in gender, race, nationality, creed, sexuality, and other areas translates to better representation of our present society.
Finally, in Part 6 you will learn all about entering the field of professional writing, including the importance of having an online presence, creating an online portfolio to represent you and your best work, as well as what samples of work to include in a portfolio and advice to potentially spark ideas of what those pieces of work would be. Chapter 11 also discusses how you can use LinkedIn to better your chances of getting the professional writing job you have always wanted. This chapter provides information to make your transition to the field of professional writing smoother and gives insider tips on how to increase your chances of landing your dream job. The book concludes with an appendix that showcases profiles of some careers that an English major would excel at. As this book was developed with students from the Fall 2022 Introduction to Professional Writing course, these profiles were created by students just like you! They were tasked with researching careers they were interested in, and developing a unique profile highlighting the associated skills, education, salary information, and other resources that will help you learn more about these careers. This is why each profile has a different design. We hope these profiles give you a better understanding of the kind of careers available to students with an English degree!
The goal of this book is to help you, the students, understand the possibilities of a career in technical and professional writing, focusing on fundamental skills that will serve you no matter what industry your career is in. Each rhetorical situation will be different, but this book will help you learn ways to research and approach these situations and respond to them as confident professional writers.
- Kaleigh Moore, “Study: 73% of Employers Want Candidates With This Skill, ” Inc. Magazine, April 7, 2016, https://www.inc.com/kaleigh-moore/study-73-of-employers-want-candidates-with-this-skill.html. ↵
