The Future of Business Writing

When I was examining the Writer’s Web Writing in the Disciplines page before beginning my final project, I took at look at the Business WID page with great expectations. Because all business majors are required to take Business Communications before the end of their sophomore year, I expected the Business WID page to be an extensive collection of tips for writing reports, memos, proposals, and business plans. I was surprised, however, that the only subject area within business represented on the WID page was economics. While most concentrations and majors in the Robins School of Business do not require an overwhelming amount of writing, there are certain kinds of business writing that all business majors will have to complete at some point in their career, regardless of their specialization.

As a business major, I believe that it is extremely important for my classmates to have a good understanding of what business writing entails. For many, a knowledge how to write clearly and how to get ideas across effectively could be the difference between getting an interview, or being overlooked by an employer. If one is lucky enough to get a job, the level of writing that is expected of you will not decrease. In the business world, the words that you put in an email, a memo, or a formal report could affect yourself, your department, or your company to a great extent.

I think that having this knowledge of the amount of writing emphasized in the business world is the reason that I was so surprised at the lack of detail on the Business Writing in the Disciplines page on our Writer’s Web. Business Administration and Accounting are the two most popular majors on campus, which just further increases the need for greater writing emphasis on Writer’s Web, as well as in the Business School.

For my website, I decided to focus on the piece of writing that had given me the most trouble when I took Business Communications last semester: the business proposal. To me, I could not quite understand the balance between factual information and persuasion that had to be included in the document. However, while conducting my research and an interview with Dr. Jeff Pollack of the management department, I began to understand why such a balance is necessary in such an important document.

I began with my interview with Dr. Pollack. Dr. Pollack and I became close this year in my Living and Learning class, in which he was one of the two professors. Our class, which was focused on the subject of Social Entrepreneurship, opened my eyes to the non-profit facet of the business world, which, unfortunately, is not always emphasized in the Robins School of Business. Dr. Pollack requires his management students to write business proposals as their final project, which means that he is relatively experienced with this form of business writing. His answers to my questions were extremely helpful in guiding my research into different kinds of literature regarding business proposals and the kind of writing that is required to write an effective one. 

I used the library databases and came across many articles that, basically, agreed with my contention that writing needs to have a greater emphasis put on it in undergraduate business schools. Bill Rainey reported surprising statistics in his article “Proposal Writing – A Neglected Area of Instruction”. He surveyed the CEOs of fifty manufacturing firms in an attempt to determine the importance of executives to write technical proposals. Rainey found that “the number of executives officers reporting ‘great’ or ‘crucial’ exceeded 50 per cent” (32). Rainey also surveyed 116 undergraduate business professors to determine their views on the importance of writing in undergraduate business. Surprisingly, only 32.7% of the professors surveyed believed that “a course in writing business and technical proposals…is important enough for business majors to be offered as a distinct course” (32). The clear disconnect between the needs of executives in the business world and those instructing the business leaders of tomorrow is enough to cause a concern among any undergraduate currently enrolled in a business program.

I made the decision to tailor my Business Proposal WID page first on the literature specific to the kind of writing I was focusing on and then refer to our readings from class. I originally though that making connections between a page on writing business proposals and the different readings that we had done in class would be difficult, but I was surprised at how many similarities there actually were between the two disciplines. For example, Eubanks and Schaeffer’s argument surrounding the problem of academic jargon is completely applicable to business writing. The authors’ assertion that specialized vocabulary used often and incorrectly can make a piece of writing appear insincere is an important point that all business majors should take note of. If one utilized a word that “sounded” right without knowing the correct meaning in a piece of business writing, not only could one lose their job, but their reputation could be irrevocably tarnished.

During finals week, I met with Dr. Essid to discuss my final project. We began discussing the topic of writing in the Robins School of Business here at UR. He said something that particularly stuck in my mind and has inspired me as a future Writing Consultant. More or less, Dr. Essid said this (please excuse my paraphrasing!):

“We have a good business school, there are better ones out there. I do not believe that the business schools at state schools focus on writing. I wonder if we could set ourselves apart as a business school by placing a greater emphasis on writing.”

I agree with him to the greatest extent possible. I am happy to be a part of the Robins School of Business and am always proud to see where we are ranked when Business Week releases their list of top business schools. I would love for us to differentiate ourselves by putting a greater emphasis on business writing. I want all of my peers to graduate with a job in hand, and I sincerely believe that a larger writing program in the business school will help us to get there. 

High Reward

Learning about working with English Language Learner students has been a particularly interesting part of English 383, in my opinion. Because I come from a multicultural background, I am always interested in research that has been done about people from my mother and father's cultures. Reading articles about how to best assist those writers who may be struggling with the English language has been some of the best readings that I have done in this class and I cannot wait to put these theories into practice.

Mosher's "Creating a Common Ground with ESL Writers" was an article that I particularly enjoyed. His WATCH method for assisting ELL writers will be so beneficial for me when I am working with international students in the future. I am so happy that Mosher emphasizes that "helping the writer is [our] primary purpose". I think that, over the course the semester, we may have gotten caught up in theories and readings and lost sight of the reason that we are Writing Consultants. We all have the ability to write well. In my opinion, when one has a particular strength or skill, it is part of their responsibility to share that ability with others. I know that I have always loved helping others with their writing and I hope that I will not lose sight of that when I begin working in the Writing Center.

Our responsibility to our peers is exponentially increased when we are faced with a situation involved a writer whose native language is not English. Forget nuance and flow; many of these writers must focus on sentence-level errors or organization as a whole. When an ELL student walks through the doors of the Writing Center, we as Consultants must share our skill with them and help them to the best of our ability. I am so happy that Mosher emphasized this aspect of consulting in his article...I think we may have needed a little reminder.

Another aspect of Mosher's article that I enjoyed was how he broke issues into "Cultural Variants". We as Americans often do not acknowledge that people in other cultures do things differently than we do. As the world becomes smaller with the help of technology, it is increasingly important that we acknowledge these differences in culture and that we are respectful to those who hail from different places than we do. I know that, as a business major, the likelihood of me working with people from different countries is very high. When I am reading a report or proposal written by someone with different cultural variants than my own, I am sure that I will return to Mosher's article to remind myself of these differences.

I welcome the challenge of working with ELL students as a Writing Consultants. It may be one of the more difficult tasks that I will face during my time in the Writing Center, but I am sure it will be the most rewarding.

Final Project Prospectus

For my final project, I plan on exploring the "best practices" for writing business proposals. The Business WID page seems to concentrate only on writing for economics and general business communication. As a business student, I believe that having a more in-depth resource available to my peers at the Robins School of Business would encourage more students to come to the Writing Center.

I would like to focus on business proposals because I believe that they are important to all business students, regardless of major or concentration. I will interview Dr. Jeff Pollack, who is a management professor in the business school who concentrates in entrepreneurship. In his entrepreneurship classes, Dr. Pollack requires all of his students to write and present a business plan for a company that is entirely their own. I plan on discussing best practices with Dr. Pollack and find out what he thinks that students should know when writing business proposals.

Additionally, I plan on using the Journal of Business Communication to see if there has been any outside research describing the most effective way to write a business proposal. I will turn to additional business communication journals, if need be.

Finally, I will do my best to incorporate some of our readings from class into my project. As always, "Focus on Focus" will be an excellent resource for me. In business proposals, it is essential that all of the information provided is detailed and clear and that there are no errors. "Focus on Focus" will assist me in giving that information to the readers of the webpage. Additionally, I will utilize some of the readings from our final week of class, which revolve around new media for assignments. I think that in the business world, it is especially important that we are prepared to use new technologies to present our ideas. Perhaps I will be able to suggest ways that business proposals could be turned into multimedia projects.

Fear Factor

As I lay in bed with a fever towards the end of last week, I had a lot of time to reflect on the year so far. Reflection is an important part of life, I think, because you can evaluate both where you've been and where you're going. I think that as I continue, not only as a Writing Consultant, but in my life and career, reflecting on the recent past will have a huge impact on where I am going.

I looked back at my first blog post, where we had been instructed to comment on our biggest fears as we began the Writing Consultant program. I had been afraid of having the power to influence my peers' grades and wrote extensively about my personal past and why I thought that this fear was so great. I think that I am still worried about the amount of influence I could have on my peers, but the fear has faded to apprehension as the semester as gone on. Now, I would say that my biggest fear about my future as a Writing Consultant is not being able to figure out which areas of writing my peers require the most assistance.

At this point in the semester, I have read numerous theories about writing tutoring and writing centers, and seen those theories put into practice by observing experienced consultants and practicing commentary in class. I now have a vague idea about how my consultations would begin. I would begin by asking the writer what their biggest concerns are in the paper and make a note of it. I would keep my eye out for those specific areas and do my best to address their concerns. Hopefully at the same time, I would be able to find what I believe to be the most pressing issues of the paper. This aspect of the consultation is the most frightening for me. I know that there will be a wide range of writing styles, skill levels and practices coming through the doors of the Writing Center and I am afraid that I will not be able to spot errors on all points of that spectrum.

I know that these fears will subside as I become more comfortable in my role as a consultant. I am hopeful that I will be able to become a chameleon, in the sense that I will be able to adjust to any type of writing that comes to the fourth floor of Weinstein Hall. Unfortunately, when one cannot predict what kind of experiences they will have, the only way to deal with such fear is to be prepared for anything. I know that I will be prepared for anything, and I hope that the work that I have put into English 383 will help me to face my biggest fears.

How Much is Too Much?

When I first began my journey in English 383, I struggled (as you could see in my earlier posts) with the concept of making better writers, not necessarily better writing. After some reflection, I think that I struggled with this idea because of the way that I learned to write well.

When I was younger, my parents would read my writing and show me where I had made errors, whether they were sentences that didn't make sense or a comma that was in the wrong place. The next time I would write, I would concentrate on the mistakes that I had made earlier to ensure that I did not make the same mistake twice. Granted, I was about eight years old and my errors were minor, but I truly believe that that is the way that I learned to write. I think that I had to come to terms with the fact that not everyone learns that way and that fixing a peer's writing won't always make that peer a better writer.

As a result of the many readings that we have done and my own personal observations, I think that I now understand the concept of minimalism in the writing center. While there are some errors that we could simply point out to the writers, in order to improve the writer in the long-term, they must find and correct errors on their own. This is not to say that we cannot lead them to those errors, but rather that we must take more of a "behind the scenes" role during consultations.

I do not think that anyone would respond to a writing consultant pointing out an entire essay's worth of errors to them, the way that I had when my parents had edited my papers. I think that I have come to the realization that we are not authority figures, like parents or professors, but play the role of a knowledgeable friend who you would go to when you don't understand a concept. While your friends might help explain general ideas to you, the only way that you will truly grasp a concept is if you come to conclusions on your own. I now understand that idea and plan to carry it with me when I become a writing consultant.

Practice Makes Perfect

It is hard for me to believe that I am already halfway through my second semester of sophomore year at the University of Richmond. Semesters have come and gone, and before I can process what is happening around me, it will be September and I will be jet setting to Prague to study abroad for four months.

English 383 has been one of those classes that, when I reflect on 2012 thus far, I feel that I have learned the most. The readings have been provocative and have allowed me to think about writing, both my own and that of my peers, in new ways. But, as I have mentioned previously, I feel that the skills necessary to become the kind of writing consultant that I want to be can really only be taught through practice, not reading. For this reason, I was thrilled to be given the opportunity to read a paper written by a peer and practice what I have read and seen.

Dr. Essid warned me before I read Kelsey’s paper that it was a strong one; he was not joking. The biggest issue I had with Kelsey’s paper was the lack of periods, which turned out to be a computer error and did not take a way from the strength of the writing. I found that the strength of the paper was beneficial for me to practice my commentary, as I had to do particularly close reading to find errors.

One of the issues that I had with Kelsey’s paper was her use of rather long sentences. There were a few times that I found myself reading a sentence two or three times because it was difficult to comprehend all of the information that she was giving to the reader. During our conference, I brought up the issue. Kelsey replied that she has always struggled condensing her sentences, which caused me to think of Bartholomae’s Study of Error. It is important that we as consultants analyze why our peers make the errors that they do so that we can properly address them. Because this issue has been a recurring one for Kelsey, I knew that I would not be able to properly analyze why she struggles with run-on sentences in the amount of time that we had together.

I wrestled with the issue after class that day and during my relaxing spring break. Then, one day, my sixteen-year-old brother came home from school. I asked him how high school was treating him, which caused him to launch into an elaborate explanation about the physics project he was doing for the science fair. Although three years younger than me, my brother is much smarter than I am. That, combined with my total lack of knowledge about physics, meant that I found that my brother was throwing so much information at me at one time that I could not possibly comprehend everything that he was saying. I simply smiled and nodded and when he scurried away from me, I realized the answer to my question about Kelsey. Kelsey is clearly a strong writer and an intelligent person. I believe that these two character traits contribute to her struggle with run-on sentences. I know that Kelsey has a lot to say but, despite the strength of her writing, sometimes gives the reader more information than they can process in one sentence. I suggested to Kelsey that she utilize “craftman’s distance”, followed by a reading of her paper aloud to spot areas where the reader may become confused.

Throughout Kelsey’s paper, I found a grand total of one grammatical error: the issue of colons versus semi-colons. I am familiar with this grammatical point; I find that I often struggle when deciding which is appropriate. Although this was a minor error that only occurred once in the paper, I attempted to think of how I would handle a more serious grammatical issue during a consultation.

I know from my own past grammatical struggles that it is more beneficial to understand grammar than to memorize it. I believe that Glover & Stay say it best: “Through an understanding of grammar, as opposed to rote memorization of forms, students can begin to see connections between grammatical choice and audience, and, more important, they can begin to understand what these choices say about themselves as writers and as human beings” (Glover & Stay 130). This quotation shows that grammar should be more than a list of rules that writers should memorize. It should become a part of their writing “ritual”, as grammar could have an effect on how the reader views the strength of the writer. During conference, I showed Kelsey a Writer’s Web page on colons versus semi-colons. Writer’s Web allows writers to have a reference point that, hopefully, could become a part of their writing ritual. I want to make using Writer’s Web in consultations part of my writing consultant ritual, as I believe it is an important resource that begins integrating grammar into the writing process.

There was one sentence in Kelsey’s paper that immediately brought me to the discussion we had had the class before regarding offensive papers. Kelsey had written that “in today’s society”, midgets are viewed in a humorous light, rather than the supernatural one that they were portrayed in Native American religion. That one sentence quickly reminded me of Gorkemli’s experience with a xenophobic paper. I used Gorkemli’s technique of paraphrasing what was written in the paper in hopes that Kelsey would “[hear] and [become] aware of possible differing reactions” to what she had written (Gorkemli 10). Because she had been quite vocal during our discussion in class two days earlier, Kelsey immediately recognized that her “easy generalization” had led to something that could have been viewed as offensive to the reader.

Although the generalization in Kelsey’s paper could have been viewed as offensive, I was, and this may sound strange, happy that it was in there. I was nervous in class the day before at the thought of being in a consultation with an offensive paper. Dealing with a mildly offensive comment with someone that I knew from class was a perfect first experience. Now, if I was faced with an offensive paper or comment within a paper, I think that I would have a much better idea of how to handle it.   

Another reason that I enjoyed this midterm assignment so much is that I was given the opportunity to be consulted by one of my peers. Lauren read a history paper that I had written during my first semester freshman year. I wanted to use this paper because I had written it before I was entirely comfortable with how to write for college. Before class, I was excited to see how Lauren reacted to the paper and what comments she had for me.

Lauren’s style of consulting was to be as warm and encouraging as possible. Her enthusiasm for my writing made the consultation insightful and enjoyable. I admired the way that she integrated so much of what we had learned in class into her comments, but her friendliness and openness were two qualities that really stood out to me during the consultation.

After my consultation with Lauren, I realized that being able to analyze and edit a peer’s paper is only makes up half of the job description of a consultant. The other half is much more personal. We must make the writer feel comfortable, open up to the writer about our own experiences, form a relationship, encourage them, push them…all while showing some amount of restraint. We are peers, not professors.

Now, time is continuing to fly. There are only six weeks left in this semester, which, to me, is mind-blowing. But after this English 383 midterm, I realized exactly how much I have learned thus far. I know that the remaining six weeks will make me feel exponentially more comfortable with my future role as a writing consultant, but I am now confident that I will be able to take the theories of the classroom and put them into practice in the Writing Center. 

Who Knew?

My time in English 383 has been an enjoyable one thus far. I have found the readings to be interesting and attention-grabbing and the activities that we have done in class have been helpful. I have found myself picturing how I would handle certain situations if hired as a Writing Consultant.

The aspect of English 383 that has surprised me throughout the semester has been the amount of training that potential Writing Consultants must all go through before gaining a spot on the fourth floor of Weinstein. I suppose that I had known that the Writing Center didn't just pick students on a whim to advise their peers' writing, but I didn't realize the extent of the training that so many Consultants before me have gone through.

This week, I observed Maggie Burch in the Writing Center. It was amazing to me to see the things that we have been discussing in class come to "life" right before my eyes. She took the time to find out what the writer hoped to get out of the session and paid attention to the professor's comments, two aspects of being a Writing Consultant that have been emphasized over the past six weeks. I think that, like so many other skills that one learns, I got a much better idea of what being a Writing Consultant means by seeing the actual process, rather than just learning about it in the classroom.

I have learned so much, as my peers before me have, from only a month and a half of class, and I am sure that my knowledge will continue to grow as the semester progresses. I am now more excited than ever to begin my career as a Writing Consultant here at the University of Richmond. I can't wait to start.