Business and Professional Communication Quarterly Dec 2021

Teaching Workplace Genre Ecologies and Pedagogical Goals Through Résumés and Cover Letters

Sara Doan Kennesaw State University

Abstract

This study examines how and why 20 instructors (17 tenure-line and 3 nontenure-line) in introductory service courses enact their pedagogical values and address current concerns (e.g., personal branding, LinkedIn, and applicant tracking systems) when teaching résumés and cover letters. Research methods included a demographics survey, qualitative interviews, and critical discourse analysis of assignment sheets and deidentified student examples. Results provide an opportunity to renegotiate gaps between Business and Professional Communication’s research and pedagogical methods, shifting from overemphasizing formatting and checklists and toward understanding job applications as workplace genre ecologies to encourage deeper learning.

Journal
Business and Professional Communication Quarterly
Published
2021-12-01
DOI
10.1177/23294906211031810
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Open Access
Closed
Topics
genre theory discourse analysis writing pedagogy teacher development professional writing labor and working conditions
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Citation Context

Cited by in this index (5)

  1. Moore et al. (2026)
    LinkedIn in Business and Technical Communication: A Textbook Analysis Grounded …
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  2. Lookadoo et al. (2025)
    Is Your Résumé/Textbook Up-To-Date? An Audit of AI ATS Résumé Instruction
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  3. Pandey (2025)
    Exploring Design Strategies for Student Career Portfolios
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  4. Townley (2025)
    International Merger and Acquisition: A Site of Interdisciplinary and Intertext…
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  5. Griffith et al. (2024)
    A Field Wide Snapshot of Student Learning Outcomes in the Technical and Profess…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication

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CrossRef global citation count: 10 View in citation network → Build reading path →

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