Full Description
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.
Contents
Preface.
Chapter 1. The Work of Writing.
Chapter 2. Contributing to the Professional Conversation.
Defining Your Contribution.
Getting Into the Conversation.
Maintaining Your Vision.
Chapter 3. Meeting Readers' Needs and Expectations.
Creating Signposts and Roadmaps.
Paying Attention to Genre Expectations.
Making Sense of the Conventions.
Dealing With Difficult Situations.
Resisting the Temptation to Recycle.
Chapter 4. Finding Your Professional Voice.
Claiming Ownership of Your Writing.
Exorcising the Grad Student Within.
Making It Personal.
Keeping It Under Control.
Chapter 5. Starting, Revising, and Finishing.
Getting Started.
Learning to Like Revising.
Getting It In the Mail.
Afterword.
Appendix A: Organizing a Writing Group.
Appendix B: Sample Book Proposal Guidelines.
Appendix C: A Few Good Books on Writing.
References.
Index.
