Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
Andrew Chevez
Max Yarosh
Professor Bialas
ENGL297
April 26, 2017
An Exploration and Analysis of Economic Writing by Dr. Cindy Clement
INTRODUCTION
This project is an ethnography that examines Dr. Cindy Clement, the Director of
Undergraduate Studies in Economics at the University of Maryland, in order to identify the role
that technical writing plays in economics. Economics does not immediately come to mind when
one thinks of a job that involves writing, however Professional Writing is a field that
encompasses many different disciplines and areas of study. The misconception of economics and
writing not being related begins to rectify itself upon a deeper investigation of the subject.
Writing in economics requires the ability to succinctly summarize and explain complex and very
specific ideas and language found in the field. This can be done in both an academic context, such
as with the interaction between student and lecture slides, as well as a non-academic context
where one may have to explain these ideas to employers or clients.
This study observes the writing of an individual with experience in both academic and
nonacademic economic writing. We have observed the work environment and analyzed the type
of work this individual has done in the past and continues to do. In order to achieve a deeper
understanding of just how exactly our research subject accomplishes this, we will be using
Chapter 14, What Do Technical Communicators Need to Know about Genre from our textbook
Solving Problems in Technical Communication as our lens for analysis and discussion. We will
use this lens to examine how best to convey economic jargon, concepts, and ideas to other
students and individuals unfamiliar with the intricacies of economics. Since this topic is very
broad, we will refine our topic of interest by examining the genres through which Dr. Cindy
Clement has accomplished this in the past and how she currently does this. By conducting this
research, we hope to learn how to enable those unfamiliar with or uncertain about the world of
economics to understand and conceptualize these ideas that one usually undergoes years of
training and specialization to learn and understand. This will contribute to our groups overall
development as technical writers and economists by understanding how to effectively
communicate with others through our economic writing. We will also gain the advantage of
understanding how to convey these complex ideas to people not in the field which will help us
increase our value in the job market.
ARTIFACT ANALYSIS
In addition to interviewing Dr. Clement, we analyzed artifacts in order to assess how she
communicates with laymen audiences. The analytic lens we chose to use was Chapter 14, What
Do Technical Communicators Need to Know about Genre from our textbook Solving Problems
in Technical Communication. This chapter was of particular interest to us because it discussed the
ways in which genre plays a central role in technical communication. As we have discovered,
genres play an incredibly important part in economic writing. Dr. Clement has written in many
different genres for many different purposes throughout her career. Of importance to our research
are the genres of the project report, the email, and the lecture slide. The lecture slide represents
the way in which she communicates to her students in a purely academic environment, while the
project report reflects a non-academic professional environment. The email is a multi-disciplinary
communication method that appears to be indispensable in any kind of economic work. The genre
heuristic presented in Chapter 14 is what we used to analyze these three methods of technical
communication. The four main steps of the genre heuristic are to analyze the purpose behind a
genre, the relationships involved with the genre, the document characteristics involved with the
genre, and the ability to learn the genre (SPTC 352).
This allows readers who are skimming the document to absorb the reports main ideas quickly.
The intention of this document is to quickly convey the ideas contained within to a busy
audience, as evidenced by its structure.
In regards to explaining and defining terms, theories, and models, economics provides a
unique challenge. Schmeidler et. al concluded that the use of models in economics is quite
different from its use in other sciences in that economic models are not concrete and can be used
to explain a variety of different scenarios; in other words, the models scopes can be quite broad
(3). Furthermore, economists Gibbard and Varian have likened economic models to paintings,
drawing, and caricatures; some models are intended to mimic reality (paintings), some are meant
to simplify reality (drawings), and others are meant to present a distorted, hyperbolized reality as
caricatures do (9). On the other hand, as Grune-Yanoff and Schweinzer put it, an analogy for
economic theory would be that of a fable or fairy tale; in fact, some economists have highlighted
the role of stories in explaining game theory (5). Another method for explaining both models and
theories would be analogies (Schmeidler et al. 2014).
What is curious, then, is the discrepancy between Dr. Clements use of analogies and
anecdotes to explain economic concepts in class and her method of defining terms in this report.
The report defines concepts without really defining terms: Trade liberalization would benefit
the country of Barbados by lowering trade barriers, thus increasing industry efficiency and
innovation through the introduction of foreign technologies and products (56). Rather than
explain what trade liberalization is, for example, Trade liberalization would benefit the country
of Barbados. It is the idea that or using an analogy, Dr. Clement and her team place context
clues that allows readers to figure out what trade liberalization is. Dr. Clement highlighted this
technique in our interview with her, saying that some readers, particularly those in prestigious
positions, may feel unknowledgable or overwhelmed if there are too many definitions included,
or it may seem as if the author is underestimating the readers intelligence. Students, on the other
hand, are more receptive to the direct method because they are enrolled in the university with the
intent to learn. Thus, Dr. Clement prefers the context clues method over a more direct
explanation when addressing an audiences like doctors, lawyers, or bankers. This seems to be
the main method employed in the paper, as seen here where the team writes 9.4.2 Resource
Allocations: The budget allocation of the judiciary and police falls under the Ministry of National
Security and Justice. Overall expenditure indicates allocation can be done more efficiently
through... (39). In economics, resource allocation is the distribution of various resources to
different uses; different allocations have different efficiencies. The header that Dr. Clement uses,
resource allocation, is an economics term, but she again explains it overtly.
Dr. Clements report highlights two things our group should consider as we embark on
our professional careers: concision is especially important in writing to a busy audience and
subtle explanations may be more effective than direct ones when addressing a professional
audience. As students, we are taught direct explanations (stories, supposed scenarios, etc.), are the
best way of explaining things; even professors and textbooks use these methods. This report
highlights the sensitive nature of interactions we may encounter in the professional world and
introduces an appropriate method of defining concepts, theories, and jargon. In addition, the
report uses bullet points, something students only typically see in PowerPoints, which allow
readers to better skim through the document. This is stylistic choice our team can employ when
we write research papers in the future.
Lecture Slides
Though she preferred the chalkboard, writing PowerPoints is something that Dr. Clement
had to learn as a professor in order to help teach her students who were more digitally-oriented.
Dr. Clementss lecture slides are written with the purpose of conveying economic information to
students who are familiar with some of the material, but are being introduced to new, different,
and more complex ideas that build upon their existing foundational knowledge.
Dr. Clement says that many of her students find PowerPoints to be ineffective if there is
too much written content included on one slide, templates with too many colors, or unusual and
decorative fonts. Thus, Dr. Clement uses simple PowerPoint templates, featuring grey and red
toned slides, light colors meant to diminish distraction and direct attention to the slides content
which is typed in Times New Roman. At the beginning of each slide is a brief summary and
objective of that days lesson, followed by that days particular content. Dr. Clement bullet points
her main ideas and elaborates on them orally, telling anecdotes and making analogies to explain
difficult concepts. To ensure students are paying attention, she has sometime asks students read
the slides content and after elaborating on some topics, asks pertinent questions.
Dr. Clements teaching methods demonstrate that she is not a traditional economics
professor. Speaking as economics students, many teachers within the department solely read off
slides and do not require participation. Dr. Clement, on the other hand, is known to record every
time someone participates in her course; for most of her courses she requires that each student
participates in the class at least fifteen times a semester, either by asking or answering questions
that she or their classmates present, thus giving them an incentive to do so.
It is evident that orally explaining and defining economic concepts requires interactions
between the communicator and audience. Communication serves to not only deliver initial
definitions, but also pinpoint what the audience is having trouble understanding and further
address those issues. In addition, interacting with the audience, perhaps through asking questions,
is a useful in engaging in critical discussion around the subject and reinforcing ideas and
concepts. A group mate who took on of her classes recalls that Dr. Clement would often define a
concept based on her professional experience and ask students to read a short exert on the concept
from their textbook. She would then have student discuss which definition was appropriate and
that definition could be expanded and bettered. Thus when communicating orally, anecdotes,
analogies, and questions can also be combined with direct discussions around the definition of the
concept to explain economics.
Emails
Dr. Clementss emails make up the bulk of her written professional writing. She typically
sends out emails to communicate with students and fellow faculty, or to alert undergraduates of
job or research opportunities in the department. Her purpose for writing each individual email can
vary, from setting up an advisory meeting with a student to communicating with the University
Dean regarding funding for the undergraduate economics program. These varied interactions
display a complex system of relationships. The characteristics of the emails themselves are
typical emails written in a professional manner. They are not the kind sent between friends; these
are the kinds of emails one sends to a colleague or boss. Learning the genre is likely not a large
issue, as most everyone is required to use email for at least aspect of their professional careers.
We have had difficulty analyzing and pinpointing this genre due to its incredibly prolific nature. It
exists as both a highly generic genre and as a tool that can be used to carry out economic writing,
depending upon who is writing the email.
CONCLUSION
Through our ethnographic study of Dr. Cindy Clement, we have been able to answer our
questions about professional writing in the field of economics. We initially began this study not
knowing where it would lead us, but after completing our research we learned some very
important lessons as budding economists. The genre heuristic allowed us to learn a few key things
about professional writing in economics, principally that there are many ways to convey the
complex ideas found in economics to those who may not be fully able to understand them. The
subtle context clues method Dr. Cement employs in her research report is the best way of
defining and explaining economics to a professional audience, where as analogies and anecdotes
may work better for other less formal audiences, such as students and colleagues. We have
learned that ones audience will determine the nature of ones writing; it is not only important to
explain information as thoroughly as possible, but also to do so in a way that respects the
audiences expectations. In addition, we have used the genre heuristic to look at the ways in
which an economics professionals uses the genres of project report, lecture slides, and emails to
get across important ideas in economics to superiors, students, and a wide array of others. It is our
hope that others in the same field as us can benefit from the research we have undertaken and we
sincerely believe in the importance of understanding the role of professional writing as it pertains
to other academic disciplines.
Group Contributions
Mariam:
Wrote the Team Charter & Schedule as well as Letter of Inquiry
Proposed ethnography subject and contacted Dr. Clement
Interviewed Dr. Clement with other group members, Max and I asking questions, Andrew note
taking
Fully wrote the Findings & Workplace Observations, Project & Lecture Slides sections, and
portions of the Introduction, Data Collection Procedures, & Conclusion
o Formatted ethnography
Edited, reworded, & organized the overall ethnography as well as group documents
Andrew:
Task Manager for the team
Conducted interview of the research subject with fellow group members; took notes on both the
environment and what the subject was saying
Created the entirety of the preliminary draft of the ethnography, including all major sections
Chose and applied analytic framework
Engaged in various editorial and revisionary work on the ethnography and other team documents
Max:
Wrote introduction, research question, and calendar for proposal.
Wrote data collection methods and analysis for proposal.
Analyzed and reviewed data collected and tried to understand the full meaning behind the data
collected.
Outlined the ethnography and summarized what needed to be added to each section and the way
the information is organized in the paper in order to flow.
Communicated effectively with all group members in order to turn in all assignments on time and
completed as we outlined in the team schedule.
Works Cited
Gibbard, A. and Varian, H. (1978). Economic models, Journal of Philosophy, vol. 75(11), pp.
66477.
Gilboa , A. Postlewaite , L. Samuelson and D. Schmeidler (2014), Economic Models as
Analogies, The Economic Journal 124: F513F533.
Grune-Yanoff, T. and Schweinzer, P. (2008). The roles of stories in applying game
theory, Journal of Economic Methodology, vol. 15(2), pp. 13146.
Johnson-Eilola, Johndan, and Stuart A. Selber. Solving problems in technical
communication. Chicago, IL: U of Chicago Press, 2013. Print.
Personal Interview with Dr. Cindy Clement. Personal Interview. 3 Mar. 2017
Inter-American Development Bank and Caribbean Group for Cooperation in Economic
Development. 2000. Challenges of Capacity Development: Towards Sustainable Reforms of
Caribbean Justice Sectors. Washington, D.C.: IDB.
Tversky, Amos, and Daniel Kahneman. "Availability: A heuristic for judging frequency and
probability." Cognitive psychology 5.2 (1973): 207-232.