Major Writing Assignment Draft

               How many of us thought while sitting in freshman English class in high school that if I can just pass this class I’ll never have write again in my life?  Or did you say I won’t major in English I don’t need to know how to write exceptionally? Well the truth is no matter what profession you choose in life, writing will be something you interact with each and every day.   It just so happens that writing is a major aspect of the business world and how you will conduct your everyday work in the future.

Purpose in Business Writing

When comparing academic and non-academic writing in the business field you will notice that there are multiple similarities and differences when it comes to the purpose of the piece of writing.  The purpose of writing in the business field may be as simple as a memo, to explain an upcoming event the business is having which is considered non-academic, or it could be very complex.  A complex example of writing in this case could involve more than one purpose.  For example, informing people of your new discovery in the field and persuading companies to implement your findings into their business, would be a more academic centered purpose in the business field.

Academic Writing

               The reason for writing in an academic way is because it tends to be more thought out and more complex than in non-academic writing.  Antonella Angelini, a researcher at the University of Pisa, Italy and Martina Bianchi, a marketing advisor, state their purpose in the abstract of the article (2015) “The purpose of this study has been to measure the relationship between the level of customers' satisfaction regarding the provision of advice and asset management carried out by financial advisors…”(p. 7).  Even though that was the purpose of the study and not the writing, we can assume from that quote that they will be sharing about their findings in their study that they conducted.  Later in the article, Angelini and Bianchi expand on their purpose to inform the reader by sharing how they conducted each part that they analyzed.  By Angelini and Bianchi going into great detail in these sections, it shows the credibility of their results which will play a big role in the last paragraph of the article.  In their last paragraph, Angelini and Bianchi explain that their findings are significant (2015), “The results show how management can acquire useful information for the improvement of service quality” (p. 15). 

            In academic writing the purpose of writing may build on itself throughout the paper, as it did in Angelini and Bianchi’s article.  The article started out with informing the reader of the research that they performed, as well as showed the amount of depth they went into when researching.   This all became very import in the last paragraph when they began to persuade the reader to implement their research into their business to see an improved quality of service.

Non-Academic Writing

               Non-academic writing compared to academic writing is far less complex because non-academic writing could be just and e-mail sent to a co-worker, a memo or a report that you send to a customer, but that’s not to say it doesn’t have a purpose.  Peyton Blake the analyst I interviewed from GE Finance, said “most of the writing she did on a daily basis was through e-mail and spent around twenty minutes on a normal e-mail when she writes one”(personal communication, September 6, 2015).  Often times when writing emails in the business field there are a list of things that you are being asked to be completed.  That being said the purpose for non-academic writing in business field tends to be more question based or informational.  An example of non-formal writing I receive every month from TD Ameritrade is a four to five page report on how my account value changed that month.  Its complete purpose is to inform the customer of how their investments have progressed.   

Blake also shared “one piece of non-academic writing that she writes is a monthly report which she presents to the company each month.”  She added that “the purpose of her report is strictly information to the company and even though it is non-academic it still requires time and attention to detail” (personal communication, September 6, 2015).  With Blake’s monthly report being a formal information piece of writing she said “it’s important to make sure your purpose is what your audience is looking to gain from your report” (personal communication, September 6, 2015).

Audience in Business Writing

The audience in a piece of business writing may be a group of people you know or work with like in Blake’s case, or it could be business owners or managers in an area that you researched for your new academic writing.  In either case it is important that you adjust your writing to the intended audience.

Academic Writing

            The audience for an academic article in the business field tends to be people that are highly educated or experts in the area you researched.  The fact that the audience is an expert in the field is very important to understand because they will be able to understand what you are staying at a deeper level than someone from another field or of a lower educational background.  Luca Vincenzo Ballestra a researcher at the University of Napoli in Italy and Graziella Pacelli and Davide Radi both researchers at the University Politecnica delle Marche in Italy academic articles contain formulas (2015) “P_BS=e^-r/τ” (p. 668).  This formula show that Ballestra, Pacelli and Radi expect their audience to understand how the equation is calculated and relevant to the field.

            Another aspect that is different about an audience in an academic article compared to a non-academic article is that generally the audience will read the academic article completely.  Which is shown by the amount of detail put into the article in the form formulas, detailed charts and an abstract at the beginning.  Academic audiences differ a lot from non-academic because most non-academic writing is used in the everyday business world where time is important and needs to be spend being as productive as possible.

Non-Academic Writing

            The audience for a non-academic piece of writing may be your co-workers or clients, but either way the writing needs to be written so they can understand it easily.  In Blake’s writing she says “it is important to know who your audience will be and to make your writing concise.”  As your audience may not have time to read a two page email compared to a half page email.   

Media and Design in Business Writing

               Media and design plays an important role in business writing especially when catching the eye of the audience and making them interested in reading your paper.  Media and design is how the paper looks to the eye such as headings, length of paragraphs, bulleted points, and color of text as well as bolded words. 

Academic Writing

               In academic writing media and design is not as important as it is in non-academic because the audience is more likely to read your report as opposed skimming it like readers might in non-academic.  Although it is used in academic writing to separate the headings and highlight the authors main points of the paper.

Non-Academic Writing

               Non-academic writing uses media and design a lot and it is a major aspect of grabbing the attention of your audience.  In an email Blake wrote she highlighted the points she wanted her audience to take away and left the explanations un-bolded as they were in depth details and not the main idea.  Blake emphasized the importance of “presenting your information so that it is easy for your audience to get your main points quickly.” This is key in the business world because a lot of your non-academic writing will be emails which do not get a lot of time and quality attention from your co-workers.

Genre and Stance in Business Writing

            There are many genres in both academic and non-academic business writing some of the most popular being reports, letters, memos, and instructions all of which play a key role in the field of business.  In addition to genre, stance also is important when writing in business.  Stance in writing is how you come across through your writing are you thoughtful and friendly or are rude and arrogant.

Academic Writing

               In most academic writing the genre in a report is that you have found something new with your research and to report your finds.  In both cases academic and non-academic it is important to understand your stance.  In academic writing you may be an expert in your field, but it is important not to push your ideas on the reader.  Instead it is better to wait until the end and share with the reader how your findings can help them.  In Alma D Hales’s article Liquidity and price discovery in Latin America: evidence from American depositary receipts she uses phrases like (2015) “the findings in this paper suggest…” (p. 661).  A phrase like Alma’s suggests that you do as her report findings show, but she doesn’t tell you to do it.  This is key in the success of Alma’s report being implemented into the business field.

Non-Academic Writing

            In non-academic writing which is often between you and your co-workers in business it is very important to respect the views of others as well as be respected yourself.  One way you can control that is through the stance of your writing which is very important in non-academic writing because a common genre of writing is an email.  That email is generally shared between you a co-worker, someone you will interact with every day.  This makes the stance of your writing more personal than the stance of an academic piece of writing which might be read by people you will never talk to again.  Your stance will be very important when presenting information to new clients or your bosses.

Works Cited

Angelini, A., & Bianchi, M. (2015). Service quality and profitability. An empirical study about    clients and financial advisors of the Allianz Bank F.A. International Journal Of       Management Cases, 17(4), 7-18.

Ballestra, L. V., Pacelli, G., & Radi, D. (2015). The impact of the interest rate volatility on the             valuation of investment strategies. International Journal of Management Cases, 17(4),    35-44.

E-mail interview. 6 Sept. 2015. Blake, Peyton.

Hales, A. (2015). Liquidity and price discovery in Latin America: evidence from American                                                         depositary receipts. Journal of Economics & Finance, 39(4), 661-678.     doi:10.1007/s12197-013 ---9270-2