Putting It Plainly, Grad School Article

Whether you're just applying for grad school, just finishing it, or already in the workplace, once you've got those letters behind your name you're expected to communicate well. With all those years of school behind you, you must surely have the skills you need to succeed, right?

Once you've completed an undergraduate degree, colleagues and employers will assume you possess certain skills. You're sharp, organized, and motivated. You're competent in the lab, and a strong researcher. You know how to assemble information, and how to deliver it in a consistent and appropriate way.

Wait a minute. That last statement requires a little unpacking. I've just told you that colleagues, professors and employers will expect a certain set of skills from you as a university graduate. Is that fair? Do you, as the proud recipient of a BA in Literature, have the same set of skills as does your best friend who graduated at the same time as you with an honors BEng? I suspect you write rather differently. Rather than suggesting that you both write well (quite probably the case), it is more precise to think of both yourself and your friend as possessing the ability to write well within a particular and specific set of conventions. Asked to deliver a paper on nanotechnology in computer engineering you might just come up short; likewise, asked to speak on the significance of Flaubert's correspondence with Turgenev, your friend might find herself at a loss for words. You may both be excellent at what you're trained to do, but what you're trained to do may be more specialized (and in some ways limiting!) than you've realized.

Observing the different ways you and your friend collect and portray information, the different subject matter you choose, and the different formats you use to report your findings, might lead someone who didn't know you to suspect that you would have trouble understanding each other, a tough time communicating clearly. This obviously isn't true. You're best friends despite the different academic languages you use. Why? Because you don't use your academic writing skills in conversation with your friend. Your friendship behaves according to its own set of conventions. Whether your friend is writing for you or for her engineering professor, she knows how to get her message across.

A chat with your best friend is easy because you both know what to expect. Your long run of A+s in English is also a result of your ability to channel academic insights into a conventional form that your professor recognizes and appreciates. Your ability to flourish in professional communication requires you to work within yet another set of established conventions. Picking these up may test your initiative a bit, since it's quite possible nobody ever mentioned them to you. Here are some words of advice for the aspiring (or even reluctant) workplace writer:

1. Know your message – This sounds obvious, but the first and most important thing you need to consider as you prepare to send a request, order, complaint or routine correspondence is what exactly you wish to tell your reader. If you don't have a clear understanding of where your letter or email is coming from, your audience doesn't have a hope. Now that you know what you want to say, begin to consider how best to phrase your correspondence. Chances are that your letter or email concerns some form of transaction. How can you help your audience understand the situation in a way that increases your chances of getting the response you want?

2. Assess your audience – Are you writing to someone you know? How does that person prefer to be approached? Formally? Informally? By first name? By title? If you don't know, don't assume. Err on the side of formality. Particularly with email, someone will respond at a level of formality they're comfortable with. Don't assume that Professor Bigglesworthy is fine with Jimmy. Maybe he prefers "J-dog," but let him set the tone.

3. Be direct – If you are requesting a specific action, let your readers know. Don't make them guess, and don't make them search for critical bits of information in out of the way sections of your correspondence. Put your message front and center.