Order ID | 53563633773 |
Type | Essay |
Writer Level | Masters |
Style | APA |
Sources/References | 4 |
Perfect Number of Pages to Order | 5-10 Pages |
Journal of Public Affairs Education
Teaching Grammar and Editing in Public Administration: Lessons Learned from
Early Offerings of an Undergraduate Administrative Writing Course
Claire Connolly Knox University of Central Florida School of Public Administration
ABSTRACT College graduates need to possess strong writing skills before entering the work- force. Although many public administration undergraduate programs primarily focus on policy, finance, and management, we fall short of a larger goal if students cannot communicate results to a variety of audiences. This article discusses the results of a national survey, which concludes that few undergraduate public affairs programs require an administrative/technical writing course. Based on pedagogical theories, this article describes the design of a newly implemented, undergraduate, administrative writing course. The article concludes with lessons learned, provides recommendations for programs considering requiring an administrative writing course, and discusses future research.
Keywords: administrative writing, Plain Language Movement, discourse community, undergraduate course design
“Administrators not only need to know about communications, they need to be able to communicate” (Denhardt, 2001, p. 529). Public administration under- graduate students learn the importance of communication within organizations in leadership, human resources, or organizational management courses; however, practical instruction in communication skills, such as effective, audience-centered writing, are lacking. Scholars (e.g., Cleary, 1990, 1997; Lee, 2000; Raphael & Nesbary, 2005; Waugh & Manns, 1991) have noted this lack of required commun- ication and writing courses in public administration curriculum. The majority of administrative writing literature is from the late 1980s and early 1990s when universities began implementing Writing Across the Curriculum programs (i.e.,
JPAE 19 (3), 515–536
516 Journal of Public Affairs Education
Londow, 1993; Stanford, 1992). The limited discussions and conclusions coincide with private and public sector trends—newly hired students’ writing skills are lacking (Hines & Basso, 2008; National Commission, 2005).
A survey by the National Commission on Writing for America’s Families, Schools, and Colleges (2005) reported that approximately 80% of public sector human resource directors seriously considered writing skills when hiring professional employees and assumed new employees obtained these skills in college. Increasingly, public managers require employees to attend writing and communication trainings, which cost governments approximately $221 million annually (National Commis- sion, 2005). In fact, the public sector (66%) is more likely to send professional/ salaried employees for writing training than the private sector (40%; National Commission, 2005). Public, private, and nonprofit sector organizations certainly should continue providing education in writing, and scholars (e.g., Coplin, 2003; Hines & Basso, 2008; Quible & Griffin, 2007) agree that newly graduated students should enter the workforce with a solid writing foundation.
For the past 30 years, statistics, policy, finance, and management remained the primary focus in many public administration undergraduate programs (Dougherty, 2011). Yet, we fall short of a larger goal if students cannot communicate program evaluation and policy analysis results to a variety of audiences. Researchers (i.e., Pincus, 1997; Raphael & Nesbary, 2005) have studied the lack of communication courses in Master of Public Administration (MPA) and Master of Business Admini- stration programs, but undergraduate public administration program design and content has received less attention (Dougherty, 2011). This article adds to the liter- ature in two ways: by continuing the limited discussion of writing/communication skill development among public administration students at the undergraduate level and by offering an administrative writing course design that mixes peda- gogical approaches.
Specifically, this article proposes that passage of the Plain Writing Act of 2010 and high costs for writing skills training for new employees support the need for these undergraduate programs to add a technical/administrative writing course in the curricula. The recommendation aligns with the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration’s (NASPAA) core competency accreditation requirement: “Development of communication abilities and skills—written, oral, and electronic” (1997, p. 6). This article briefly reviews the Plain Language Move- ment history and passage of the Plain Writing Act of 2010. The subsequent sections discuss survey results about writing requirements from NASPAA-accredited U.S. undergraduate public affairs programs, and grammar and writing pedagogical theories and best practices that informed and grounded the development of a newly designed administrative writing course. The conclusion provides pedagog- ically based recommendations for future changes to the writing course, and outlines future research.
Journal of Public Affairs Education 517
Teaching Grammar and Editing
BRIEF HISTORY OF PLAIN LANGUAGE MOVEMENT In the early 1950s, the U. S. federal government slowly integrated the Plain
Language Movement with the goal of well-written, concise, and audience-centered documents. Advocates for this new movement became more vocal after World War II and stressed that overly technical writing was an impediment to a citizen’s understanding and participation in government goods and services (Law: Waging, 1978). Yet, it was not until after 1970 that the Plain Language Movement received federal and state government support through executive orders, memorandums, and legislation (Table 1). Two main reasons for this support are (a) the expanding size of the federal government, which consequently increased paperwork, and (b) an increasing national focus on consumer activism (Redish, 1985).
Table 1. Brief History of the Plain Language Movement from Nixon to Obama Administrations
Presidential Administration
Year Action
Nixon 1972 Formal request to use layperson’s language in the Federal Register with sentences written clearly and in the active voice.
Carter 1978 Executive Orders 12044 and 12174 stated government regulations should be written clearly and without jargon.
Reagan 1981 Rescinded the executive orders in Section 10 of Executive Order 12291.
Clinton 1998 Presidential Memorandum for federal government documents to be written in layperson’s terms.
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