Business and Professional Communication Quarterly Sep 2019

Pain or Gain? How Business Communication Students Perceive the Outlining Process

Matthew J. Baker

Abstract

This study investigates how students perceive the outlining process. Students in two business communication sections completed a survey regarding outlining perceptions and reasons for outlining or not. Using qualitative content analysis and qualitative coding, the researcher and an independent coder analyzed 34 students’ responses regarding outlining process, use, and reasons for outlining or not. Results indicate that students perceive outlining as more useful if their outlining process includes both organization and content exploration and less useful if it excludes organization or content exploration. Notable reasons for not outlining include concern for outlining time and difficulty generating content for the outline.

Journal
Business and Professional Communication Quarterly
Published
2019-09-01
DOI
10.1177/2329490619831277
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Topics
professional writing
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