English 306: Introduction to Professional Writing

Professional Writing is something that started as a secondary consideration to me, since my original intention was to pursue Creative Writing as a long-neglected passion and interest. In my educational background I have been introduced to many different cultural and historical issues, and it is these as well as my love of writing and my strong foundation in the linguistics of English that drive me to reconsider Professional Writing as a primary interest. I believe I have an understanding of rhetoric due to my experiences in philosophy and many theology and history classes.

INTRODUCTION

Professional writing. A career path, field of study and a broad label for many things related to communication. Who does it? What is involved? How is life in the field of professional writing? To answer these questions, I sat down and talked with Mr. Allen Brizee. Brizee is in the graduate program of Rhetoric and Composition at Purdue University.

INTRODUCTION

For this project, I interviewed Dr. Michael Salvo, Assistant Professor of Technical and Professional Writing at Purdue University. Dr. Salvo has a great interest in the ever-advancing technology and its effects on professional writing and on society as a whole.

BACKGROUND

From: Marc Hert
To: Nathaniel Rivers
Subject: Interview with Jenny Bay

Introduction

Who teaches Professional Writing at Purdue? I don’t know the entire answer, but speaking with Jenny Bay, assistant professor of English, is a good start to finding out the inner workings of a Professional Writing instructor.

Background

Introduction

Introduction

The second part of the Professional Writing at Purdue project was to interview an instructor and write up a memo. The interview aims to help students learn how to interview, write certain questions, and organize the information after the interview. While interviewing certain instructors at Purdue, it was the project’s goal to make it easier for students just starting out in Professional Writing to understand what it takes to conduct a proper and successful interview.

Background

Introduction

Dr. Michael Salvo has been with Purdue for half a decade. He is an Assistant Professor of Technical and Professional Writing at Purdue University, has earned a doctoral degree in Technical Communication and Rhetoric from Texas Tech University, and is an expert in Usability and User-Centered Design, Information Architecture, and News Media. His interests are Pedagogy and Workplace Ethics. He attended Hunter College as an honors student and declined a doctoral interest in Herman Melville because, in his opinion, English Literature degrees are too common.

Memo: Who teaches professional writing?
To: Nathanial Rivers and English 306
From: Kaye Maloney
Date: January 27, 2008

Introduction

INTRODUCTION
For the second portion of our professional writing project, I was given the opportunity to meet and interview Melody Gee, a continuing lecturer here at Purdue. During our meeting, I was able to learn about Ms. Gee’s educational background, her experiences in professional writing and her opinions on rhetoric and communication. We also discussed the types of tasks involved in her job, as well as the skills needed to work efficiently in a professional writing environment.

BACKGROUND

On Tuesday, I interviewed professional writing instructor Jo Doran, a PhD student in Rhetoric and Composition. She has been working on her degree for three years and hopes to obtain it in the next two. She received her undergraduate degree from Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Mich., and a Master’s of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the same school.