From Workroom to Classroom

According to the website, “ DEPCO exists to challenge the idea of a general education model that marches students through a uniform curriculum. Since 1982, DEPCO (Dependable Education Products Company) has successfully furnished thousands of schools, community centers, and organizations all over North America with curriculum, software and equipment designed to suit their individual learning needs. DEPCO's approach to educating today’s youth stands to revolutionize the education environment by offering engaging curricula that takes the intimidation and confusion out of the learning for both students and instructors.”

Essentially, Depco makes alternative curriculum for interested students. In aiming to educate mostly middle and high school students, Depco offers software programs and software manuals that instructs students on how to achieve various types of technical and scientific trials. As the sole copyediting intern, my job was to evaluate these manuals to make sure that they matched the software that they were designed for. When updating the webcam manual, I was able to determine the features of the webcam that had been changed when the version updated. Updating the CorelDraw manual was by far the behemoth of my internship. When making these changes, it was vital to be able to communicate with my supervisors in order to understand what needed to be done. I would consult the example pages that my supervisor had made me, and reach out if there was any confusion. Once, I could not find the images I needed to import into the program. As it turns out, the images were never uploaded. I had to come visit the headquarters in order to have the images uploaded so that I was able to effectively do my job. In this workplace, there were only two members (my supervisor and myself) who had an education background in writing (Driskell 59). However, the margin for error was much smaller. In the classroom, you can miss several points or questions and still receive an A in the course. In an internship, there is much less room for error. When I was going through the manual, it was important that I finished it so that it was absolutely perfect. If I make a mistake in the classroom, I get a 98 instead of a 100. If I make a mistake at Depco, it gets published. This is why it is so important to have working experience along with classroom experience. The classroom is a perfect, lower-stress environment that allows students to grow in their areas of interest while building their skills. In an internship, it allows students to get a glimpse at the high-pressure environment of work performance.

Anson, Chrisand Lee Forsberg. “Moving Beyond the Academic Community: Transitional Stages in Professional Writing”

Driskill, Linda. “Understanding the Writing Contexts in Organizations”

Katz, Susan. “A Newcomer Gains Power: An Analysis of the Role of Rhetorical Expertise”

Genres in Technical/Professional Writing

My internship taught me quite a bit about smaller corporations and how they operate. Technical writing operates in many vast outlets, and even within each genre of writing, no individual job is quite like another. This is particularly true when your internship incorporates a “work-from-home” quality into it. Miller makes an excellent point when she states, that archetypes “are those fundamental logical operations or symbolic reasoning procedures which persons use to detect or generate patterns in the sequences of events” in her Genre as a Social Action. I found this to be particularly true when I worked with Depco LLC. There certainly are the levels (archetypes, episodes, speech acts, propositions, and stream of behavior), and being exposed to those levels repeatedly helps with the understanding of said levels and how they work within each unique workplace. Yates’ research also goes in-depth with this topic, coming to the conclusion that “As business philosophies and functions changed, new genres—such as letters, manuals, forms, in-house magazines, and meetings—emerged in order to meet the changing needs and roles of participants in the organization.”

Because I was not a daily presence at my internship, I believe that I missed out on some of this important communication. Often, I would go two or more weeks without interacting with my employer face-to-face, instead simply working on the projects given to me without interaction. If I had a question, I would email one of my supervisors. If they needed me to turn something in earlier, they would reach out to me. I have interacted with other employees, but very little. For my “interview”, I met several employees and talked to them as much as I could in the time that I had, but even in that instance I was not able to fully grasp the hierarchy or rhetorical genres in which the company functioned. The environment was very relaxed, but I left my first interview still unsure of what was wanted from me. After an hour of training for my job, I understood what my job was, but was still somewhat confused about how I would be accomplishing said job. I knew I would be editing manuals, but the style guide was not exactly helpful in the editing process. The most useful thing I experienced by far was working with one of my supervisors on editing a couple of pages of a manual. By watching and actively participating in the process, I was able to grasp it in a way that made sense. However, I believe that I might have had a greater understanding had I been actively involved in the workplace culture, being in the office on a daily basis. Watching my supervisor edit the manual showed me how there were unwritten rules to the editing process as much as there were written rules. Many of the applied changes were not listed in the style guide; yet, they seemed obvious when she made them. I feel like interacting with your employers face-to-face on a daily (or at least weekly) basis definitely helps establish a genre as opposed to receiving emails and working alone. With that being said, the best communities are established when all of these forms of communication are present.

Miller, Carolyn. "Genre as Social Action."

Bawarshi, Anis, and Mary Jo Reiff. "Genre Research in Workplace and Professional Contexts."

Training for the Future (Tips for Applications)

     To begin with, I have noticed that any applicant towards a professional writing job needs to have a decent amount of experience. Many of the jobs I looked for, including the three that I came across, require at least two or three years of experience in the field. While this does seem to pose a serious obstacle for any person who is trying to apply, I do have some advice on that front. For one, I have noticed that companies tend to put this requirement on the application just to help weed out people who aren’t willing to try for the spot anyway. Apply for these positions anyway. Often, companies will not have enough people that do have the required experience, so they will dip into what applications they view as qualified. As such, putting forward a well designed application will help you get called for an interview. Secondly, every company does things differently, and no experience from another company will give you all the answers you need to fulfil the requirement of this new job. What does help you succeed is an experienced sense of problem solving. As Emily Soplinsky says in her article Survival Skills for Communicators within Organizations, “Like a lot of skills, the more practice you have at problem solving, the easier it gets. Further, understanding how organizations work provides a framework for creative problem solving” (Soplinsky 113). Just regard the following positions as shown by Indeed.com:

• https://jobs.leggett.com/job/Carthage-Copywriter-MO-64836/399256400/?feedId=95500&utm_source=Indeed&utm_campaign=LeggettandPlatt_Indeed
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• https://jobs.missouristate.edu/postings/33923?utm_source=Indeed&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=Indeed
• 
  
• https://www.indeed.com/cmp/Evangel-University/jobs/Content-Editor-da8e2ce9769815c3?q=writer

           Each position requires at least two years of experience. This might turn some people off. One thing I do recommend doing is to apply for several internships throughout the college experience. This can count as experience, and allow for the applicant to bypass this restriction.

           One other thing that I recommend doing if at all possible is to sort of measure the lay of the land of the company, so to speak. It’s one thing to understand how a company chooses to appear to the public, and it’s another thing entirely to understand how they actually behave. I’ve seen this just in my company in the first few months. There are workers or departments who are less than reputable, and there are subjects that must be avoided. If there is any way to learn about this political side, such as if you know somebody in the company or can have a serious talk with previous employees, you will benefit immensely. It’s as Sherry Southard discusses in her article Interacting Successfully in Corporate Culture, “Students need to understand what correct protocol in corporate culture involves, how this protocol is determined by formal and in-formal structures, and why such protocol is important” (Southard 79). Knowing how the company operates and treats its employee will help a worker both apply and work in the environment. These tips as I’ve outlined in this entry will help an applicant gain an edge when putting their application forward, or it will at least help applicants understand what to put into their appilcations.

Defining Technical/Professional Writing

I remember talking to Dr. Patterson, the chair of the English Department, not too terribly long ago. We talked about the new writing program that had replaced Technical/Professional Writing, specifically the change of the name from Technical/Professional Writing to Professional Writing. I told her that part of what drew me to the major was the name “technical and professional writing”, because that conveyed a sense of important, tedious document analysis. She was very surprised, musing that part of the reason for the name change was that it scared students away! In “What’s Practical About Technical Writing?” Dobrin states that technical writing “accommodates technology to the user”, a writing of the scientific nature, objective, data driven. Although this does encompass part of technical writing, I do not believe that conveys the entire story.

Carolyn Miller, however, states that technical writing encompasses the world of technical rhetoric, stating, “Practical rhetoric therefore seems to concern the instrumental aspect of discourse—its potential for getting things done—and at the same time to invite a how to, or handbook, method of instruction.” I rather like this concept. Technical writing is an art and a science, in my opinion. The language of effective communication is a special one, and one that requires some length of skill-building to achieve. At the same time that there is a formulaic aspect, there is a creative aspect as well. There are ways of developing a specific writing style for engineers, scientists, artists, lawyers, and all sorts of professions, but there is a way of modifying the style to make it all your own. 

The value of technical writing cannot be overstated. When I arrived at college, I knew I wanted to major in English. However, I was unsure about the value of my degree. I was encouraged to write often as it was something I truly loved and felt I excelled at. That being said, I did not know the demand for writers or those who understood grammar and syntax. When I arrived at college, I realized that many people do not known how to write, especially not in a standard format. With my internship at Depco LLC, I was able to act as a software reviewer and editor. I analyzed a program for changes from its previous version, and made changes to the software manual as needed. Part of the challenge of the situation was trying to sort through often vague rules. I really enjoyed the individuals I worked with, but it was somewhat difficult to understand what they wanted. The manual of style they gave me to work with was a few sheets of paper stapled together. It was interesting trying to maneuver the manual for the first time and attempting to understand what was wanted from me.

However, once I met with them the second time, and was able to ask questions, it was much easier. I was able to effectively perform my job. In that way, I think it showed how important communication is in any job. Not only did I need my technical writing skills to copyedit the manual, I also needed it in order to articulate my questions via email. Since I often was given work to do by myself, I needed to be able to ask questions on a regular basis, which I did when situations arose.

Another thing I have realized about my technical writing degree is how well it works with my graphic communications major. When I first began the double major in the programs, people questioned me often, due partially to them being degrees in separate colleges and also in their apparent disconnect. I had simply chosen two things I enjoyed, but now I see how wonderfully effective they are together. Graphic Communications is another form of effective communication, much like technical writing. Whereas technical writing is words on a page, graphic communications is visual storytelling. These two skills combined build excellent communication skills. It was especially valuable to this internship, because CorelDraw X8, the program I was evaluating to update the manuscript, is much like Adobe Illustrator. Having a background and training in both Adobe Illustrator and copyediting gave me the ability to perform my job at a level that someone not trained in those areas could not have performed.

Sources:

Dobrin, David "What's Practical About Technical Writing?"

Miller, Carolyn R. “What's Practical About Technical Writing?"

Training for the Future

Searching for editing jobs was not as easy as I anticipated it being. Because editing jobs can encompass so much, I was surprised that there weren’t more local job openings for the position. However, I was able to find a couple of editing jobs; many of these jobs require some kind of experience in the field, or they were searching for someone with video editing skills, which I do not possess. While this is a little disheartening, I have learned many valuable skills through my internship with The Writers’ Slate and Professor Franklin. As Sherry Southard states in “Interacting Successfully in Corporate Culture,” “students need skills that will enable them to participate successfully and to make decisions even more than they need such skills to work successfully within older organizations.” Professor Franklin routinely encourages his interns to make important decisions on the journal, which is a practice that I can apply to my future job. Although I am transitioning immediately from an undergraduate career to a graduate career, it is still important to have an understanding of the jobs that are on the market now, because it will give me an idea of what skills will need to be further honed in order to excel.

            The first two jobs I found were for multi-media journalist positions in Pittsburg with KOAM-TV and Manhattan with WIBW-TV. These jobs requires some kind of video editing skill. While I do not have any skills in video editing, it is something that I would be willing to learn. However, since it is a preferred skill for a new hire, I would have a disadvantage when compared to other candidates. This caused me to move on to the next job I could find.

            The second job I found was a technical writing position with Reynolds and Reynolds Company in Houston, Texas. Of all the jobs I found, this was the most attractive to me because they offer benefits that include medical, dental, vision, and health insurance; an opportunity to invest in a 401K; and paid holidays, vacations, and sick days. However, the salary listed was the only negative aspect. The job ad listed on the site was $35,000+ a year. According to Indeed.com, the average wage for technical writers in the Houston area is around $62,000 a year and the lower end of the range is approximately $40,000 a year. If I were to apply for this job, I would have to negotiate for a higher wage in order to meet the cost of living increase in moving from Pittsburg to Houston. While I kept this in mind, I moved on to the next ad.

            The next posting that I found was for a junior copywriting intern position with VSolvIt LLC. This is a web-based internship that pays $8.50 an hour. For this job, I would be “working on company newsletter, providing Quality Assurance (QA) on documents, spreadsheets, and webpages, interviewing other employees, and participation in weekly team meetings”. The minimum time commitment is 10 hours a week, which is practical for an internship position while in school. After reading this posting, I decided to apply for it in order to have a job this summer. After applying, I moved on to the next job listing.

            The final opening that I found was for an outreach intern position with Midwest Cancer Alliance - University of Kansas Cancer Center. This is a full-time paid job, but the pay is unspecified. Some of the duties that I feel as though I would excel at include creating marketing materials, generating emails for distribution, internet research, and general office duties. It also requires good customer service skills, which I would excel at because I worked at Dairy Queen for several years and was required to interact with people. However, since I’m applying for graduate school in Pittsburg, this internship was not as realistic as the one I applied for.

            Overall, there were several good opportunities available now in my chosen job field. However, many of them seemed to focus on video editing skills, and I do not have any experience with them. Despite this, I was able to find an internship that I applied for in order to have a job over the summer. I learned that, even though I’m afraid of the future, it does not hurt to look and discover what is being offered, because I could be using current opportunities to develop skills I could use in future careers. 

Southard, Sherry. "Interacting Successfully in Corporate Culture."

Writing at Integrity Home Care and Hospice

          My position at Integrity is that of a Business Analyst / Professional Writer. I spend half my time writing documents, and the other half crunching numbers for the company. It’s a weird combination of responsibilities, but it provides me access to authority that I would not have had otherwise. As Katz discuses in her article A Newcomer Gains Power, “I will use Kanter’s definition of power, ‘the capacity to mobilize people and resources to get things done’ (1983, p.213). Authority can be taken to mean a source of power…” (421). I write a large volume of instructional manuals based on the processes that must be completed as a business analyst. Originally, I only wrote manuals for the three people in the business analytics department and any future business analysts. Now, however, my manuals caught the attention of the vice president of the company, and now I’m creating and rewriting manuals for an entire department. Many people read these, and I must conduct a certain sense of authority. It could be easy for these older professionals to disregard a 22 year old who hardly has his degree, but I have several higher corporate members backing my name. This support gives me authority, but I need to maintain a sense of power to encourage the readers of my manual to follow them correctly.

          I have honed my skill in writing technical documentation, and I’ve found myself enjoying it quite a lot. Even though this kind of writing can get repetitive, I find it enjoyable that these manuals are being distributed and used. That’s always a morale booster. I’ve used a lot of the writing skills I’ve developed over the years, mostly in using the appropriate language and document design. All training manuals need to have a level of consistency and branding with Integrity. Most manuals that are given to me to edit have inconsistent language with each other and no consistency as far as layout. My document design skills have greatly helped me fix these inconsistencies. I thought I would be doing more with my digital and web design skills, but there is really no need for me to cover that topic as well. I am a writer, and that’s why people reach out to me. There might be a chance to help design the websites or their intranet, but now is not the time.

          I didn’t figure that I would be spending so much time in Excel, but I do. When people think document design, they most often think about either an Adobe program or Microsoft Word, but an equal amount of design can go into an Excel document as well. The previous business analysts have trained me how to compile information and report on things, but I have been able to learn how to add my own style into these documents and design information tables in a way that provides easier access. Never underestimate how your skills might be able to help improve other functions. My skill in technical writing allowed me to redesign entire Excel sheets of numbers and data, which proves the importance of a varied skill-set.  

Genres in Technical/Professional Writing

          The time that I’m spending in Integrity is challenging me as a writer and opening my eyes a bit as an employee. Workplace writing is something that I’m dealing with, but, more often than not, my job boils down to a matter of uptake. As Bawarshi and Reiff say, “knowledge of uptake is knowledge of what to take up, how, and when, including how to execute uptakes strategically and when to resist expected uptakes” (86). I have been put forward, because of my experience writing as an intern, as the interim professional writer for both the IT Department and the Educational Development Department. This position is a struggle of uptake, since procedure before has always been for every department to handle their own writing, and some of them are quite proud at what they’ve written. Unfortunately, they don’t have the years of experience and training that I’ve had in writing professional documents, and all documents must have a sense of consistency.

          I’m doing my best to learn how to rewrite, redesign, and put forward these documents in a way that the original authors will uptake what I’ve written and not shut down. In the genre where I spend most of my time, which is technical manuals and instructional material, the language has to be a specific way in order to avoid failing as a genre. As Miller says, genres can fail by not having enough similarities across all the discourse, there may not be enough consideration of all the elements, and/or the genre has no real call to social action (Miller 163-4). My manuals are all calls to action, because my goal is to provide these manuals as a way of making certain processes easier and more accessible. Once these complicated procedures have become more accessible, my hope is that they will be done quicker and with fewer mistakes.

          I’m attempting to combat these problems by speaking from a place of authority. I’m learning to do these procedures by reading the authors’ original documents, and then tweaking them in a way that maintains the original meaning. I must avoid antagonism, or finding a permanent place with this company will be impossible. A lot of these authors in the IT and Educational Departments are older than myself, and so there is a barrier there when it comes to authority on language. I make my best efforts to remind them that this is my career, and I’ve spent years studying how to write for a particular genre. Teamwork must prevail, just as Miller says, “We learn to understand better the situations in which we find ourselves and the potentials for failure and success in acting together” (165).