Over the course of the semester, you will submit 600 – 800
word contributions to the Pitt State Technical / Professional Writing
Internship site (pittstatetechwritinginterns.blogspot.com)
using the Blogger online publishing tool.
The site will serve as a resource for future interns, other technical /
professional writers at large, and students contemplating technical / professional
writing as a major as well as as preparation for you as you enter the job
market. Keep these audiences in mind as you complete your contributions. Each contribution focuses on one of four
goals: defining technical / professional
writing for yourself and for others outside the field (future coworkers in other
departments, for example); exploring how genre works in technical /
professional contexts; understanding the workplace; and preparing for the job
market. If you have questions about these assignments, contact me, Jamie
McDaniel, not your internship supervisor.
1)
Defining Technical / Professional Writing
Readings
Jo Allen, “The Case against
Defining Technical Writing”
David Dobrin, “What’s Technical
about Technical Writing?”
Carolyn Miller, “A Humanistic
Rationale for Technical Writing” and “What’s Practical about Technical
Writing?”
Elizabeth Tebeaux, “Let’s Not Ruin
Technical Writing, Too”
Carolyn Miller, “Carolyn Miller
Responds”
Assignment
Your internship supervisor has
decided to request funding to begin a search for a new technical / professional
writing position. However, she worries
that the hiring manager may not understand the purpose and value of a technical
/ professional writer for your particular work context, especially given
current economic and budget constraints.
The internship supervisor wants to cast the widest net possible when she
looks to fill the position, but she worries that the hiring manager may overlook
candidates with degrees from humanities departments. Therefore, she has asked you to write part of
her request report. In order to increase
the persuasiveness of your contribution, your internship supervisor has asked
you to include appropriate research from specialists in the field.
Your contribution should
·
Define technical / professional writing both in
general as a field and in your specific internship context,
·
Describe the potential value added through the
hire of a technical / professional writer, and
·
Outline the value added to a technical /
professional writing degree awarded from a humanities department.
2)
Genres in Technical / Professional Writing
Readings
Carolyn Miller, “Genre as Social
Action”
Anis Bawarshi and Mary Jo Reiff,
“Rhetorical Genre Studies” and “Genre Research in Workplace and Professional Contexts”
Assignment
Your internship supervisor has
asked you to contribute one entry to a guidebook for a kind of writing (or genre of writing) that you have
encountered during your internship. This
guidebook is not simply a style manual (with information such as margin width
and typeface, for example). Instead, the
internship supervisor wants to help future interns and other workers understand
a genre of technical / professional writing by describing the primary elements
of that piece of writing (what Miller calls “typified rhetorical actions”) and
the ways in which this genre works within your specific professional context (“recurrent
situations,” to use Miller’s language).
Additionally, in order to better
understand the genre, the internship supervisor has asked you to research other
jobs and types of professional situations in which you might use this genre and
describe how it is used within that context.
Finally, in order to increase the
persuasiveness of your contribution, your internship supervisor has asked you
to include appropriate research from specialists in the field.
Your contribution should
·
Describe the primary elements of a technical /
professional writing genre used during your internship
·
Outline the ways in which this genre works
within your specific professional context at your internship site, and
·
Describe other professional contexts in which
this genre might be used and the ways it might change in those other situations
3)
From Schoolroom to Workroom
Readings
Linda Driskill, “Understanding the
Writing Contexts in Organizations”
Chris Anson and Lee Forsberg,
“Moving Beyond the Academic Community:
Transitional Stages in Professional Writing”
Susan Katz, “A Newcomer Gains
Power: An Analysis of the Role of
Rhetorical Expertise”
Assignment
Authors Linda Driskill, Chris
Anson, Lee Forsberg, and Susan Katz have approached you to contribute to an
anthology that offers descriptions of internship experiences in various areas. The audiences for the anthology are students
who are considering a career in technical / professional writing or students
who are already technical / professional writing majors but need to decide on a
specific area in which to do an internship.
At the very least, your contribution to the anthology should include
·
your job title,
·
a description of your responsibilities,
·
a list of what you would say are required
qualifications and preferred qualifications for this position,
·
the abilities and skills you have learned /
practiced during your internship,
·
the abilities and skills you thought you would
learn / practice but have not,
·
a description of the ways that writing and
working with your internship differs from writing and working at school, and
·
an analysis of the writing context, work
atmosphere, and organizational hierarchy (use the readings to help you
accomplish this task).
You can also include any other
information that you deem important. Think
of your contribution in this way: If you
knew who was taking over your position after you leave, what would you tell
them about the job and about your internship location and why?
In order to increase the
persuasiveness of your contribution, the book editor has asked you to include
appropriate research from specialists in the field.
4)
Training for the Future
Readings
Johndan Johnson-Eilola, “Relocating
the Value of Work: Technical
Communication in a Post-Industrial Age”
Sherry G. Southard, “Interacting
Successfully in Corporate Culture”
Emily Soplinsky, “Survival Skills
for Communicators within Organizations”
Assignment
Now that you are close to completing
your internship experience, the Director of Technical / Professional Writing
has asked you to explore how it has contributed to your qualifications as a
technical / professional writer and what skills and abilities you may still
need to develop.
To that end, find at least three
job advertisements / descriptions for technical / professional writing
positions for which you would apply.
Research these positions and companies.
Given your research, you will create a “training unit” for the positions
you have found. This training unit
should consist of resources that will increase the likelihood of your
employment in the kind of position you have researched as well as a rationale
for the resources you include. What
resources and experiences from your internship will help you get the kind of
job that you want, and what resources and experiences do you still need to
gain?
This training unit might include
additional readings, websites, videos, suggested coursework, online courses
(such as those offered through Lynda.com or through Adobe), or any other
resources that will help prepare you.
For example, if the job advertisements request experience with Adobe
Production Premium, then you might include links to YouTube videos that discuss
the ways to use Adobe Production Premium or links to the appropriate AdobeTV
videos. Additionally, if the job
advertisements request experience with social media, you might include links to
resources on blogging. You could also
include other suggestions about gaining this kind of experience, such as
managing a website or Facebook page for a local non-profit organization. These suggestions are only a few ways in
which you can increase your marketability.
In order to increase the
persuasiveness of your contribution, the Director of Technical / Professional
Writing has asked you to include appropriate research from specialists in the
field. You will also want to include any
resources you find, whether a PDF, a web link, a video, or another kind of resource.
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