RE: TECHWR-L Digest, Vol 46, Issue 18

[john rosberg <john_rosberg -at- hotmail -dot- com>]

Rob Hudson wrote 


<snip>
 "I'm putting together a business writing course for undergraduates and
wanted to survey the professional community about rubrics, or criteria
lists, for various business and technical writing assignments. 

 

<snip>
 To ask it another way, what are the most common mistakes or problems
you see from new writers in the workplace? I can back those ideas into
criteria for assignments."
 
Rob -- you've gotten some great responses here -- I'll add that many recent grads seem not to understand that their efforts are intended to support a business -- this can lead to:

 

- confusion over the need for deadlines (but I could do a much better job if I had three more weeks)

 

-frustration over less-than leading edge practices (why can't we just put everything on hold while we transfer 30 years of docs to this new tool)

 

- lack of clarity around the basic concept of for profit operations (we need 10 more writers -- what is this budget of which you speak?)

 

I've written these characters large, no doubt, but they do highlight some areas for improvement I've seen in recent grads. Writing is one of the more important tasks we perform, but not the only one.

 

Thanks for asking, though -- your students will profit from your curiosity!
 
 
John Rosberg
Documentation and Training
john_rosberg -at- hotmail -dot- com
2765 Deerfield Road
Riverwoods, IL 60015
847-502-1833


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