For this report, you will explore professional writing from a few vantage points. You will research what professional writing means (for instance, by interviewing working professionals and faculty) in your internship and career. You will also, most importantly, research what professional writers do, what they produce, and what tools they use to do their jobs. Once you have done your research, your report must have a core focus. Having done the research, you should be able to say that \u00a0\u201cprofessional writing is<\/strong>\u2026\u201d or \u201cprofessional writers are<\/strong>\u2026\u201d and then support that claim with quotes, examples, details, and description. Feel free to sub out \u201cprofessional writers\u201d for the position title you have at your internship i.e. \u201csocial media coordinators are X<\/strong>,\u201d or \u201cscience communication is X,<\/strong>\u201d would be a good way to start the the memo.<\/p>\n Please note: 50 points of this assignment are gained from turning in a complete first draft for peer review.<\/strong><\/p>\n Make sure to check out “How to write a memo<\/a>” before you start.<\/p>\n Some ideas for getting started include:<\/p>\n interviewing working professionals:<\/b> \u00a0Ask folks who do your job with you at your internship, what do professional writers do and what kinds of writing or writing communities do they work with? Start with the questions in\u00a0the Employee evaluation of career success Interview Questionnaire<\/a> during your research but don’t limit yourself to those questions. Use them as jumping off points to get the conversation going. You might consider conducting some face-to-face, email, or IM interviews to gather materials, ask questions about documents produced, and find out what tools they use. What events? What practices? What domains? What does their day to day life look like?<\/p>\n reviewing professional organizations:<\/b> Check out what professional organizations exist for your position and what resources they have. You don\u2019t have to join, but it is always a good idea to know what your options are. For example, UXPA (https:\/\/uxpa.org\/<\/a>) is a great place to learn about user experience jobs.<\/p>\n reading about professional writers:<\/b>\u00a0The Bureau of Labor Statistics is an excellent resource for finding out about careers with individualized sections such as\u00a0\u201cAuthors, Writers, and Editors<\/a>\u201c or \u201cTechnical Writers<\/a>.\u201c Additionally, finding some \u201cday in the life\u2026\u201d pieces can be a good place to start to understand how your career works. you can also consult with trade magazines read by working professional writers. Many folks create content like Matthew Magain’s \u201cA Life of a UX designer.<\/a>\u201d Try and find similar content for your career memo.<\/p>\n The steps above will lead you to identifying and analyzing the different types of documents professional writers produce, and should reveal some of the tools they put to use in generating those documents. We\u2019ll talk more about each of the items in the list above and generate some material together in class.<\/p>\n Getting a sense of the genre of informational reports is important, so that you best know how to structure the report, integrate the components of the report, and sculpt the language you use in the report. Your report should look like <\/i>and read like<\/i> a report (not an essay).<\/p>\n Suggested report sections and questions for you to contemplate as you work include:<\/p>\nGetting Started <\/b><\/h4>\n
Writing the Report <\/b><\/h4>\n