Do You Know Your Professional-in-Training Role in Writing?
Writers should „learn to adopt the role of professional-in-training, to get involved in the complexity of business decision making, rather than merely play the role of text processor or layperson.“ — B. E. Walvoord
The study „Thinking and Writing in College“ examines writing assignment, support and instruction of students in university courses.
The researchers identified distinct professional-in-training roles:
- in business, the decision-maker
- in history, the arguer using historical evidence
- in psychology, the social scientist or counselor
- in biology, the research scientist
As they detected difficulties in six areas:
- gathering sufficient specific information
- constructing the audience and the self
- stating a position
- suing appropriate discipline-based methods
- managing complexity
- organizing the paper
Thus, writers need to find their interests and questions within a field to develop the specific skill to engage in it; to explore conjunctions of personal with professional pursuits.