The Work of Writing: Insights and Strategies for Academics and Professionals [Paperback]

Elizabeth Rankin (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0787956791 | ISBN-13: 978-0787956790 | Publication Date: August 6, 2001 | Edition: 1

Professional and academic writing is often seen as dull, dry, and as boring to write as it is to read. In The Work of Writing, Rankin challenges these assumptions by encouraging the professional writer to develop a strong writing voice and become fully engaged with the writing process, thus producing written work that is lively and engaging. This book will give academic practitioners and other professionals critical help in determining what to write, how to write it, and how to position their written works succesfully for the markets they wish to reach. Rather than a style manual, The Work of Writing focuses on the thinking, strategizing, and decision making that goes on in the heads of academic and professional writers. In doing so, it deals with the complex issues of purpose, audience, genre, and voice that all writers face. Drawing on collective experience of academic and professional readers as well as writers, Rankin offers a framework to help writers think about their writing in realistic, practical, and productive ways. The book offers specific examples and "real-life" scenarios that are familiar to all academic writers--and by extension, to practicing professionals as well.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The Work of Writing achieves its promise to support writers as they enter the professional conversation." (The Department Chair; Summer 2004)

"Practical advice for academics and graduate students who want to hone their skills and liven up their writing." (Book News, Inc., November 2001)

Review

"I admire this book and feel confident that readers will find it useful and a pleasure too. Rankin deftly chooses stories of actual writers and texts-stories that do a lot of work in a short space."
— Peter Elbow, department of English, University of Massachusetts at Amherst

"Faculty and graduate students in all disciplines who are trying to write articles, books, grants, curriculum guides, or other professional documents, will find Rankin's book an imaginative, sensible, and practical guide to strategizing, organizing, addressing audiences, and combining creativity with convention."
— Barbara Walvoord, director, Kaneb Center for Teaching and Learning, concurrent professor of English, and fellow of the Institute for Educational Initiatives, University of Notre Dame

"This most engagingly written little book provides a wealth of clear and useful advice about the writing process from formulating a project through planning, drafting, and revising it. Professor Rankin communicates this advice through a dozen intimate stories about writers struggling with articles, proposals, and books, and, with the help of colleagues, bringing them to successful conclusions."
— Joseph M. Williams, professor emeritus, departments of English and Linguistics, The University of Chicago

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Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass; 1 edition (August 6, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0787956791
• ISBN-13: 978-0787956790
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 9 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #349,845 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 3 Keys to Effective Professional and Technical Writing, October 17, 2009

By 

Robert Bogetti "www.rlbogetti.com" (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Work of Writing: Insights and Strategies for Academics and Professionals (Paperback)

Helpful text describing the insights and key strategies to use when writing professional and technical non-fiction. Topics such as: defining you contribution (selecting a topic); determining your audience; and selecting a voice. The author describes each topic in an easily understandable manner through the eyes of her reading groups. At the end of each section are tips on how to apply each lesson in a reading group and also to solo writers. Additionally, several ideas are presented on how to avoid and break through the dreaded "writer's block".

The author clearly demonstrates through numerous examples that most writing problems can be resolved by stepping back and re-examining your purpose, audience, and voice. This is most easily accomplished either by giving yourself some distance (time) or through the use of friends and writing groups. I recommend this book for anyone tasked with writing professional and technical non-fiction, especially for those transitioning from dissertations or thesis work to journals and articles.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Down to earth advice for writers, December 18, 2007

By 

W. G. Watkins - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Work of Writing: Insights and Strategies for Academics and Professionals (Paperback)

This short book (less than 100 pages) gives basic principles for those who would publish. But these principles pertain to other forms of communication as well. The author draws from her positive experience with writing groups.

5.0 out of 5 stars Things to keep in mind writing, July 21, 2010

By 

G. de Groot - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Work of Writing: Insights and Strategies for Academics and Professionals (Paperback)

Elizabeth Rankin wrote a stimulating little book about writing based on her experience in writing groups. She found out that academics from different disciplines can be of great help to each other and she illustrates this very well in The Work of Writing. She focuses on the intellectual work of writing. What is the purpose of your writing? Who is your audience? What is your own voice? Themes that writers from all discplines have in common:
- What is your contribution to the professional conversation?
- How do you meet your reader's needs and expectations?
- How do you find your professional voice?
- How do you start and finish your writing projects?
Each theme is illustrated by examples from writers who brought their work to the writing group. You easy identify with these examples and Rankin gets her message across. The book is a pleasure to read a gave my a lot of new insights to work with. This five star book deserves to be widely known.