Easing the Tension: Breaking Down Technical and Professional Writing

By Madelyn Carroll

Those of us who dare to embrace the title of “writer” probably entered the field under the premise that all writing is inherently creative-- an ornate and melodic juxtaposition of language that creates a narrative, evokes emotion, and reveals truth and insight about the world and our lives. When students become Writing Arts majors to develop themselves as creative writers, they will likely discover that there are other valuable options they might otherwise neglect, for example, technical and professional writing as well as new media writing and publishing.

Despite its newness and reliance on multiple genres and digital multimodality, writing with new media bears some relationship to creative writing, where writers construct engaging narratives filled with emotion and insight, expressed within digital contexts. But where does the most underrated and misunderstood field of writing fit into the equation? Especially since it is one of the central parts of the Writing Arts major? What exactly is “technical and professional writing?

I’m willing to bet that most new Writing Arts students don’t know much about it. I didn’t. All I knew was creative writing, and even my knowledge of that was limited. In retrospect, my ignorance of technical and professional writing was part of why I chose to study creative writing without a second thought. Is the same true for other Writing Arts students? Is our ignorance and fear of the unknown holding us back from exploring the world of technical and professional writing

Broadly speaking, the purpose of technical and professional writing is to convey information in order to accomplish a task with others and get work done. Given this definition, it is important to understand that technical writing and professional writing are not one and the same. If you listen closely, you just might hear someone say “technicalandprofessionalwriting” in just one breath or simply call it technical writing. While technical and professional writing may be one concentration (formerly known as a “specialization”) in our department, they are in fact two separate fields with different conventions and purposes.

“Technical and professional writing is the area of writing that deals with working in a professional context and writing in a professional context and whether that has more to do with the technical side of things – technology, science, engineering – or the business side of things dictate whether it falls under technical or professional.” - Amy Reed

The easiest way to differentiate between these two kinds of writing is to define both of them separately. Technical writing is understood as writing for those who work in “technical” (mechanical or scientific) areas. This genre requires writers to objectively deliver facts and data in ways that are useful to readers, such as instruction manuals or grant applications, but also clothing labels or coupons, that is, writing that we use to get things done, and writing that most of us fail to recognize but could not get on without. While normally considered to be informative and not persuasive, technical writing, when we consider the way a writer presents facts to frame a reader’s understanding and attitude, may be seen as persuasive and perhaps even “creative.

“Professional writing is the overarching definition that encompasses all writing that would happen in a profession: correspondence, emails, memos, newsletters, brochures, pamphlets, even signage.” - Grace Fillenwarth

Because professional writing is not as localized and specific as technical writing, anyone can become a professional writer: someone who writes within any professional setting. Such writing includes emails or press releases, memos or policy statements, letters or contracts. Becoming aware of the impact of written communication within business and institutional settings promises to elevate professional writers as essential players in the functioning of any organization. This aim is partly responsible for the creation of the Writing Arts concentration in technical and professional writing (fall 2013), and the new developments that will be in place for the 2017-18 academic year.

Courses specifically designed for this concentration are being developed and will shape a concrete field of study for interested students. The Technical and Professional Writing concentration shares several courses with the other two concentrations in the major. For instance, Tutoring Writing satisfies Creative Writing and Technical and Professional Writing, Writing for the Workplace and Professions in Writing Arts satisfy New Media and Publishing as well as Technical and Professional Writing, and The Publishing Industry satisfies all three concentrations.  The Publishing Industry and Professions in Writing Arts are basic tools that are helpful for all writers. Writing for the Workplace is a special case. It is focused on professional writing, but still satisfies the New Media and Publishing and Technical and Professional writing concentrations— perhaps because professional writing is a necessary skill for every field (think editors, agents, et cetera). Another course offered in the concentration is Rhetorical Theory (offered by Communications Studies), a class where students learn to develop rhetorical sensibility. The Technical and Professional Writing concentration also borrows courses from other departments, including Journalism (Magazine Article Writing, The Publishing Industry); Communication Studies (Rhetorical Theory); and RTF (Intro to New Media). Other courses available are Introduction to Technical Writing, Magazine Article Writing (offered by the Journalism department), Tutoring Writing, and Introduction to New Media (offered by RTF). This is only the beginning for the technical and professional writing concentration here at Rowan.

“For technical writing this semester we’re working with the Fossil Park here at Rowan University and we’re creating a volunteer manual since they recently have had an explosion of growth and they are gearing up for big changes. It gives students the chance to do some writing that will serve an important role and are learning to complete projects in ‘the real world.’” - Grace Fillenwarth

In the fall 2017, we will see Medical Writing and Rhetoric as a special topics course where students will have the opportunity to explore medicine as a culture and a discipline, what is called medical rhetoric. We will also see Science Writing and Rhetoric in the spring 2018, in which students will gain familiarity with reading and writing within scientific genres to better prepare them for a career in an important field. This is a solid foundation for the concentration, however it is only a start. New courses will continue to make their way into the curriculum to form a more concrete track for the students that choose this growing field of study. 

“The audience usually differs between technical and professional writing. Usually stuff written in a technical writing setting are for an expert audience, so they tend to use more specialized jargon, whereas professional writing tends to be less specialized in language. One thing they have in common is they share a goal in having their audiences understand the information they are communicating, then accept or act on that.” - Jen Tole

Now, I bet you’re wondering why you should choose this concentration. If I’m frank, technical writing seems to offer the most accessible and most lucrative career options, which as a writing student, I know is a pressing concern. It’s an expanding field, not just here at Rowan, but out in the world. While both technical and professional writing have existed since medicine, science, business (really, anything that needs to be written about) have existed, there is constantly more and more attention being drawn towards these genres. Plus, just think about all of the opportunities there would be to write and to get published! I think that’s a pretty convincing case in itself. ​

Personally, I am intrigued by the technical and professional writing fields and I’m excited to watch it grow and develop here at Rowan. I’m happy to be a part of it, and I think you all should be too— even if you just take one class. A writer should be well-rounded and established, able to speak on and write in multiple genres. So I urge you, take this opportunity to expand your understanding of writing.