Organizational Writing Interview and Guide

For Project 1, you will investigate a real writing context and write an informational document explaining that writing context to a newcomer. You will do this primarily through interviewing someone who holds the kind of job you want after you graduate (this person cannot be a professor at WVU unless your aspiration is to get a PhD and become a professor). Your document can take any form you think is appropriate to communicating to newcomers.

Rhetorical Situation

• Subject: The subject of your document is writing in that organization with that job (i.e. your document is not the interview but uses the interview as a primary source). It will probably include the kinds of documents that get written, the kinds of audiences your interviewee writes for, the purposes of the documents, the corporate culture, the writing culture, available resources, and the kinds of concerns the writer has to take into account.

• Audience: The audience for your document is a newcomer to that job and that organization. What are they likely to be expert in already? What would they expect from such a document? (In addition to the texts assigned for this project from PWR, you may want to read ahead to Spilka’s article.)
• Purpose: The purpose of the document is to help orient newcomers. What do you need to inform them of? What do you need to persuade them to? What will help orient them to the expectations of the job and the organization?

Document Expectations

We will discuss different presentations for your document and how to best craft it. Keep the following concerns in mind:

• What kind of genre is most appropriate for this audience? What kinds of genres are you familiar with? What kind of genres are usual for the organization? Choose one that will help you achieve your purpose, that the audience will accept, and that you have the resources to accomplish.
• How can you make the document usable? How can you use headers, lists, spacing, columns, graphics, and other design features to make the document accessible, clear, and obvious for your readers? How can you provide navigation (page numbers, table of contents); and provide audience orientation (a title page, an introduction detailing what the document does, who it is for, what it assumes, and how to use it)?

Writing Resources for the Job

You must ask your interviewee for at least two resources for job – these might be resources about writing in that job or simply frequently-used written resources. Based on the interview, you must look up these resources for yourself and write a brief abstract to include in your document. You will also locate at least one resource on your own. Typical resources include:

• professional journals;
• specialized dictionaries;
• biographical reference guides;
• subject guides to the literature;
• encyclopedias;
• handbooks;
• bibliographies;
• problem reports;
• professional associations' websites;
• sites devoted to potential employers and job search services relevant to your field (not Monster.com, etc.);
• directories of information sources;
• relevant government documents;
• sample reports/documents/research studies;
• patents and intellectual property documents;
• electronic discussion sites relevant to your field (bulletin boards, listservs, chat rooms, discussion groups, news services, blogs, etc.).

Deadlines

Aug 25 Intro to Project 1. Discuss Faigley: What is a "discourse community"? How does Faigley define a document in the "social perspective"?

Aug 30 Make contact and set up your interview by this date. Discuss interview strategies and techniques in class. How long should the interview last? How to record it/take notes? etc. Discuss Driskoll.

Sept 1 Work in class on research strategies. Locate and bring to class two copies of your own example of a typical resource for your field. Format should be single-spaced, 12 pt font, at least 100 words + citation information. All resource abstracts will include the following, in this order:

• identifying information (title, call number, location, URL, etc.; a good link for documenting sources is here);
• a description of the resource covering both general function and specific scope (i.e., its purpose and what it covers);
• an explanation of how and why the source is relevant and useful for people in the field;
• tips for using the resource efficiently and effectively.

Sept 6 Bring five copies of your interview to class. Practice organizing information. Discuss Anson and Forsberg.

Sept 8 Document design.

Sept 13 Bring five copies of your document draft to class. Workshop. A good discussion of sentence-level editing and tone in technical/business communication is here.

Sept 15 Project 1 due to Sandy at his office in 139 Stansbury by 5pm.