How We Should Be Teaching Business Communication According to Findings of Writing Research
Although instructors of written business communication courses try to help students refine their writing, many instructors have had only limited-if any formal instruction in writing pedagogy. Familiarity with the pedagogy of writing will enable business communication instructors to help students improve their writing skills, especially students whose skills are substandard. When students’ writing skills are substandard, the writing process must also receive its fair share of attention. Regardless of how well students master the content and structure fundamentals of various types of business documents, the effectiveness of the material they write will be diminished when their writing skills are deficient.
An Analysis of the Writing Behavior of Good Student Writers.
Neither teachers nor writers have been able to agree as to what teaching strategies or learning activities promote the development of writing skill in students. Part of the problem, at least, lies in the fact that very little is known about the actual cognitive processes involved in writing. Analyses of the processes of writing are limited to a small number of studies, most of which do not come to grips with the problem of determining cognitive processes. A recent study by Emig (1971) did examine the writing behavior of eight twelfth grade student writers using case study procedures. One cannot say, however, that Emig determined in any conclusive manner what cognitive processes are involved in writing. Essentially, the complex question of what happens when good writers attack a writing task remains unanswered. Specifically, what behaviors and cognitive processes characterize the good writer prior to and during the act of writing? The dearth of research in the area may be due to the difficulty of observing and analyzing cognitive activity of any kind. Then, too, it has been the tendency to view all creative activity with reverent awe and attribute mystical characteristics to it, e.g., the poetic muse.
Content strategy in LibGuides: An exploratory study
Abstract Since its inception in 2007, Springshare's LibGuides has become a popular content management system (CMS) with academic libraries. The challenges of managing LibGuides content through a cohesive content strategy have not been well documented. The researchers conducted a survey of academic libraries that were using the LibGuides platform in Fall 2019 to determine how institutions are managing content challenges. Of 120 respondents, only 53% of the respondents indicated that their institutions had content guidelines that LibGuides authors were expected to follow. The top three most observed elements of these content guidelines were page design (80%), content reuse policies (77%), naming conventions (73%), and navigation (3%). 15% of respondents' institutions did not review guides once they were published. Of those that reviewed guides post-publication, authors (84%) most frequently reviewed their own guides. These findings imply that LibGuides are largely cared for on an honour system. Guidelines tend towards quantifiable elements and omit more abstract concepts.