What and Why
The overall goal of our course is to develop greater awareness of and proficiency in formal academic, professional writing. To that end, you will conduct interviews with at least 2 professionals. The purpose of these interviews is to gain insight into the relevance of and need for effective professional written communication.
Who
You are to select at least 2 professionals. Ideally, these professionals would be in your field of interest. They do NOT have to be psychologists or mental health professionals, although they certainly can be.
When selecting professionals, it would be best if the individuals were in different organizations and/or professions, as well as have differing levels of responsibility. Having such diversity will give you a greater perspective. The only requirement is that the interviewees writes as part of their professional duties and that can include many different types of fields/disciplines (e.g., professional authors, lawyers, scientists, psychologists, professors in all disciplines, etc…).
Guidelines for interview questions
-Demographic information (e.g., gender, education, occupation, years of experience in the field, etc…)
-Interview questions
a.) It is best to use open-ended question format, as this encourages individuals to share whatever they feel relevant in addressing your question.
b.)Areas to explore (this is not a required or exhaustive list; feel free to create your own questions)
1. Level and type of daily written communication
2. Current challenges in written communication
3. Past challenges in written communication
4. Type of academic and professional writings
5. Positive experiences with regards to academic/professional writing communication
6. Negative experiences with regards to academic/professional writing communication
7. Writing journey
Final Submission
-submit a written paper
Keep in mind that the objective is to discover the relevance of and need for effective academic, professional writing. To that end, in your final submission, you will need the following:
1. Summarize each participant’s interview information
2. Discuss commonalities between interviewees’ experiences
3. Discuss differences between interviewees’ experiences
4. Reflect upon the relevance to you
5. What did you gain from this assignment?
6. Was anything surprising? What? Why
7. Was anything disheartening? What? Why?
8. How can you use the information in your current and future endeavors?
