Professional writing is very different than other forms of writing due to its purpose or motive. Professional writing is meant to inform or persuade the reader as opposed to other forms of writing that may seek to entertain or describe a situation. Additionally, professional writing is often very formal because of the writer’s concern for the audience’s opinions. Many professional pieces of writing feature diverse vocabulary, visuals, quotes from reliable sources, or other relevant content. These components are meant to promote a pleasant and efficient reading experience. The study of rhetoric is defined as the art of effective persuasive writing. Rhetoric makes the writer more aware of the audience and allows them to see through their reader’s eyes. A good professional writer should be able to define their audience and even their secondary audience, which is the less obvious group that will read their piece. Being aware of all audience groups encourages audience advocacy. Audience advocacy accounts for audience values and needs and ensures that they are all met, including ease of reading. The ease of reading is directly related to the navigability of a piece of writing. The reader should be able to find anything the need in a timely fashion. Commonly, professional writing will contain bolded words, headings/subheadings, and a table of contents. These components provide the reader with the tools to find the information they are seeking. The details that I have previously mentioned would not normally be found in non-professional writing. For instance, the author of a narrative would be very unlikely to include charts or credible quotes in an effort to tell a story.
Bias is another idea that is often considered while writing something professional. The author must be able to remain unbiased, that is not write in a way that supports one view more than another. This allows for the reader to have their own view on the subject without being influenced. The reader should not be able to gauge the authors opinions on a matter based on the context of their writing. For example, in my public interest narrative I chose to discuss animal testing. While writing this piece it was difficult to suppress my own opinions or values on the matter. Especially because it is such a controversial topic. In addition to avoiding biases, the author must ensure that they are not offending anyone with their writing. This could be through the use of stereotypes, slang words, or graphic images. The ideas formerly discussed are both things that will take away from professional writing and make it less effective at persuading the reader.
Overall, in an attempt to bring together professional writing, rhetoric, and the ideas mentioned throughout the paper, I point out that all of these are focused on the views of the public. Writing with the consideration of public views in mind changes the way people write. It forces them to be more aware of their actions and word choices and allows for them to connect with their audience to the point where the writer hopefully understands what it is like to be in each reader’s position. As the writer is also a part of the public they should be able to discern between what is acceptable and what is not. This can be difficult as cultural norms are always changing and what may be offensive to talk about at one time may be a huge topic of discussion at another. The public is constantly evolving so in order to master professional writing, the writer must also be willing to change their ideas and continue to learn. Through understanding the public, the writer can truly deliver a rhetorical piece of professional writing that recognizes cultural standards and is ethically sound.
While it is important, in some forms of public writing, to avoid bias, I believe it can certainly be essential in some situations. Since most professional writing is aiming to persuade or convince a group to do something, taking a side can be extremely necessary. I would have to argue with you, saying that favoring a side can be very effective in professional writing. Without this, it would be impossible to get an audience to change viewpoints.
Now, I understand that Bowdon and Scott stress the importance of showing “goodwill” towards an audience. However, I believe that could still be done while favoring a side of a debated topic. For example, in a campaign, it is sometimes crucial for a candidate to go into opposing territory in order to switch some voters’ opinions. In this case, his or her writing would certainly be professional, but it would also show favoritism towards specific viewpoints. It may not be easy, but I do believe the candidate could still create a sense of goodwill with the audience. This could be achieved using Aristotle’s rhetorical appeals. The speaker could demonstrate credibility with effective use of ethos. He or she could then use anecdotes to relate emotionally to the audience (pathos). Finally, through data and other means of reasoning (logos), the speaker could undoubtedly make a case for certain constituents to switch their preference of candidate. For reasons such as this, I believe bias is not incredibly important to worry about in all forms of professional writing.