'Real world' assignments in the professional writing classroom: forging an alliance with public schools

摘要

"Real World" assignments, though pedagogically desirable for professional writing students at the university, are often difficult to find. However, public schools can provide a variety of writing assignments suitable for students in eitherintroductory or advanced technical or professional writing courses, including manuals, instructions, grants, and instructional materials. Because of the pressures of limited resources confronting public schools, both administrators and teachers welcomewriting assistance from university students. While there are many opportunities for such an alliance at the local level, the Internet allows students the opportunity to work with students schools separated by both miles and culture. The use of theInternet allows the professional writing teacher to integrate relevant technology (e-mail, Internet chat, Web Boards, WebPages) with the assigned writing tasks. Finally, students appear to appreciate assignments with a clearly defined audience andpurpose, and they seem to enjoy helping an over-burdened public school system.