Journal of Business and Technical Communication Jan 2009

Squaring the Learning Circle

Mark Ward Clemson University

Abstract

Student compositions traditionally are written for the teacher. Yet instructors of professional communication genres have discovered that students' motivation may be enhanced when they write assignments for audiences of peers within the classroom or professionals outside the campus. Yet client-based projects require writing students who have never yet written for an external audience to make a leap beyond the classroom. To bridge the gap between writing for classroom peers and writing for professional clients, this article describes a third and intermediate choice of audience, namely, external peers in cross-classroom collaborations that occur via telecommunication. The author places this intermediate-audience strategy within the larger conversation about the impact of audience on student writing outcomes, applies the strategy to professional writing pedagogy, and reports the results of a small pilot study that provide some preliminary support for the strategy.

Journal
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Published
2009-01-01
DOI
10.1177/1050651908324381
Open Access
Closed
Topics
writing pedagogy professional writing

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (4)

  1. Hendrickson et al. (2025)
    Critical Incidents in the Expansive-by-Design Classroom
    Written Communication
  2. Ford et al. (2011)
    Emphasizing Research (Further) in Undergraduate Technical Communication Curricu…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  3. Ward (2010)
    The Banality of Rhetoric? (Part 2): Alternate Views of Technical Communication …
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  4. Ward (2009)
    The Banality of Rhetoric? Assessing Steven Katz's “the Ethic of Expediency” aga…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication

Cites in this index (9)

  1. Ching (2007)
    Peer Response in the Composition Classroom: An Alternative Genealogy
    Rhetoric Review
  2. Paretti et al. (2007)
    Teaching Technical Communication in an Era of Distributed Work: A Case Study of…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  3. Spinuzzi (2007)
    Guest Editor's Introduction: Technical Communication in the Age of Distributed Work
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  4. Sapp et al. (2002)
    A Laboratory in Citizenship: Service Learning in the Technical Communication Cl…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  5. Blakeslee (2001)
    Bridging the Workplace and the Academy: Teaching Professional Genres through Cl…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
Show all 9 →
  1. McEachern (2001)
    Problems in Service Learning and Technical/Professional Writing: Incorporating …
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  2. Wojahn et al. (2001)
    Blurring Boundaries between Technical Communication and Engineering: Challenges…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  3. Sperling (1990)
    I Want to Talk to Each of You: Collaboration and the Teacher-Student Writing Co…
    Research in the Teaching of English
  4. Herrington (1985)
    Writing in Academic Settings: A Study of the Contexts for Writing in Two Colleg…
    Research in the Teaching of English
Also cites 12 works outside this index ↓
  1. 10.3102/0013189X028002004
     ↗
  2. 10.3102/00028312026002143
     ↗
  3. 10.1023/B:EDPR.0000034022.16470.f3
     ↗
  4. 10.1080/01443410500344670
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  5. 10.1023/A:1015241914483
     ↗
  6. 10.1177/003172170708800813
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  7. 10.1007/BF00119390
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  8. 10.1080/1049482920020103
     ↗
  9. 10.4018/978-1-59140-965-6.ch006
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  10. 10.1177/003172170108200708
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  11. 10.1017/CBO9780511805080.006
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  12. 10.1080/10573560500455778
     ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 13 View in citation network →

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