Discussion Question #1

Running Head : WRITING PURPOSES

Writing Purposes : Business Versus Academic Tasks

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Association /School

Writing Purposes

Business Versus Academic Tasks

1 . The goal of a writer in a business environment is most often to accomplish one of two tasks : to document or to inform . The business writer may need to document information , instructions , and /or policies and while doing this , the writing style is going to be clear , concise and may contain verbiage only familiar to those within a particular company and /or profession . The style used when informing

is likely to be similar : clear and concise , and it will likely retain an air of professionalism while being devoid of personal opinion . Often , the business writer will follow a format that is dictated by company /professional policy

Speaking generally , the business writer is primarily a documenter of facts , figures , and details in contrast , the academic writer is a documenter of analysis and opinion

The goal of an academic writer is most often to respond to an assigned task or to present a unique idea or a unique perspective on an existing idea . The academic writer is bound by rules that govern language grammar , and style . The style will often differ based on the assignment , the audience , and the writer 's voice

The degree of freedom to academic writing will sometimes outweigh that to business writing as the academic assignment is likely to have a variety of acceptable products whereas , the business assignment is likely to have only one acceptable outcome . With that said , there is also a rising scale in academic writing that dies not necessarily exist in business writing . Whether a memo is dictated by a company C .E .O . or an office secretary within the company , the expected content is generally the same . This is not the case in academic writing : the work of a freshman in college is not required to be nearly as advanced as the final product of a second-year graduate student

2 . The primary quality that makes all written communication effective is the effectiveness of the message communicated . The point of written communication is to convey information from one individual to another therefore , clarity of thought is primary . When considering clarity , it is incumbent upon the writer to consider his /her audience . Depending upon the audience , the use of jargon might be mandatory or it might be absurd , and attempting to communicate at a level that is too advanced or too simplistic will derail the writer 's ability to communicate effectively . Along with clarity , content must be considered as a factor in effective written communication . If the message being passed from one party to another isn 't relevant to both , the communication ceases and the information is lost

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