The Transition to Professional Writing

The Transition to Professional Writing

All new writers must face the same difficulties in adapting to the procedures and policies of an organization. However, this process changes for new writers who encounter a professional setting for the first time. The research article, “Moving Beyond the Academic Community: Transitional Stages in Professional Writing” by Chris M. Anson and L. Lee Forsberg, explores the experience of six interns who must transition from students to technical writers in a nonacademic setting. The authors argue that a writer’s success is strongly influenced by the context that dictates a writing situation and how well a new writer can assimilate into the discourse community of the organization. Through analyzing the transitional process of the interns, the researchers identified three common stages of development

  • Expectation: This is the idealized and overall positive vision that the writer builds before entering the workplace, which provides motivation to perform well.
  • Disorientation: This is the inability of an individual to identify as a member of the organization and the failure to successfully carry out tasks because of apprehension or misunderstanding of directions.
  • Transition and Resolution: This is when the individual begins to establish a role as a productive writer and gains rewards and responsibilities.

These stages exemplify how the context of a writing situation acts as a constraint for new writers to transition successfully into an organization. The authors explain that the research revealed, “an ongoing process of adapting to a social setting, involving not only the idiosyncratic textual features of a discourse community but a shifting array of political, managerial, and social influences as well” (Anson, Forsberg 405). To become successful and productive within an organization, a new writer must understand the different social and procedural aspects of the writing context.