Written Communication Apr 1988

The Pragmatics of Memo Writing: Developmental Differences in the Use of Rhetorical Strategies

RICHARD BEACH ; CHRIS M. ANSON

Abstract

This study examined developmental differences in adolescents' and adults' use of rhetorical strategies in memos written during a role-play session. Ninth graders, twelfth graders, college juniors, and adult graduate students chose 1 of 11 roles within the context of the role-play situation and exchanged memos persuading each other to adopt a position regarding a policy for off-campus lunch privileges. Five memos written by each of 11 randomly selected participants at each grade level were categorized by t-unit on the basis of a system of 17 rhetorical strategies. Analyses determined the relationship between grade level and memo length, rhetorical strategies (in each of four initial t-units), rhetorical focus, and participants' perceptions of their audiences' “power” before and after the session. Results show that college students and adults were more likely than younger participants to focus their memos on presenting their roles and establishing a relationship with their audience. The memos of younger participants were more likely to use “assertive” or “conditional” rhetorical strategies. Across all grade levels, however, writers were more likely to focus initial memos on establishing relationships and later memos on articulating their positions.

Journal
Written Communication
Published
1988-04-01
DOI
10.1177/0741088388005002003
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Open Access
Closed
Topics
rhetorical criticism discourse analysis graduate education professional writing
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Citation Context

Cited by in this index (4)

  1. LARSON (1996)
    Patterns in Transition: A Writing Teacher's Survey of Organizational Socialization
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  2. ROZUMALSKI et al. (1995)
    Effects of Case and Traditional Writing Assignments on Writing Products and Processes
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  3. ANSON et al. (1990)
    Moving Beyond the Academic Community: Transitional Stages in Professional Writing
    Written Communication
  4. BONK (1990)
    A Synthesis of Social Cognition and Writing Research
    Written Communication

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