Surveys of industry note that most professional writers and editors collaborate with each other and technical experts in some way, whether it be writing within a team, editing another's work, providing information for another's documentation, or group planning of a communication. Academe needs to study the benefits of and obstacles to collaborative writing, the situations in which collaborative writing occurs, and the strategies that enable the student as well as corporate employee to collaborate effectively.
This collection presents new essays from academic and industrial experts on the theories of collaboration, industrial case studies of collaborative writing, classroom techniques for collaborative assignments, and gathering, verifying, and editing strategies that enhance collaboration. A selected, annotated bibliography is included.
Some of the collected essays suggest that the benefits of effective collaboration include not only a better product but also increased interpersonal and reading skills for all collaborators. Other essays describe how the computer can be an effective medium for collaboration. The impact of collaborators' gender, experience, age, organizational role, and even language patterns and nonverbal signals are studied within some of the essays. Other essays explore aspects of managing collaboration, such as leadership and task definition. Finally, while scholars from other disciplines inform the study of collaboration, several essays suggest how those disciplines might learn from professional communication about such aspects as insight, dialogue, and software development.
The book should interest not only the academic scholars but also industrial employees who collaborate in the planning, writing, editing, or updating of a document.
