Thirteenth International Conference on Interdisciplinary Social Sciences

Abstract

Authors discuss data from this exploratory study focused on workplace writing transfer, both in the social sciences and outside, and explore how individuals within communities of professional practice perceive and understand their own development as writers in specific disciplinary contexts. This project asks interviewees, working professionals in a variety of different industries, organizations, and roles, to discuss how and what they write, how they developed skills specific to their field, what “successful” writing looks like in their community of professional practice, and what knowledge students across disciplines need to develop in their writing as they look towards the future. In addition to issues of pedagogy and disciplinary communication practices in action, this research examines organizational knowledge—“rules” of communication that often go unspoken. Further, audio versions of interviews are available to students, professors, and the public in the form of the Archive of Workplace Writing Experiences, a learning tool and repository, as well as a crucial link between the university and the “working world.” Through it, students in the social sciences, but also writers in other fields, can hear and consider the voices of those creating real workplace writing within disciplinary communities of professional practice.