To develop your understanding of rhetoric by investigating how a writer constructed a professional document or text in your major field

Writing Steps

Step 1: Select a document to analyze

Choose a piece of writing that was written by a professional in your major or a field that is closely related to your major. The text should be at least 3 pages long so that you will have enough material to analyze and write about.

These writings may include, but are not limited to:

Academic and trade publications (journals, newsletters, articles)

Company web sites (Internet and Intranet)

Professional society web sites (e.g., Federal or State Bar Association, the National Association of State Foresters, Society for Technical Communication, etc.)

Internal correspondence (the audience is within the same company or organization as the writer), for example: memos, policy & procedure documents, reports such as audit reports, project status reports, proposals, lab reports, etc.

External correspondence (the audience is outside the same company or organization as the writer), for example: letters or reports to customers or vendors, sales or marketing materials, external blogs, newsletters, etc.

Note: There are many sample documents available on the web.Use a Google search to find these in your discipline.You can also ask people you know who are working in your major field for a document they may have written.Ask your professors in your major courses for suggestions as well.