Professional writing

Professional writing is writing for reward or as a profession, or writing to a standard and style demanded by a particular profession. It involves the use of clear language to convey information in a way that is easily understood by the intended audience, and may be focused on information, persuasion or to stimulate debate.

A professional writer may be freelance, or employed in an occupation where a professional writing standard is a prerequisite, such as journalism, marketing, advertising, public relations, the military, or technical writing. While not necessarily the practitioner's primary profession, professional writing skills are essential in many other fields such as law, medicine, business, engineering, and social work.

Uses

Communication

There is, particularly in business, a need for concise and unambiguous communication with colleagues, suppliers, clients and the general public. Professional writing forestalls inattentiveness and criticism.

Persuasion

Persuasive professional writing is connected to the concept of rhetoric, which focuses on informing or persuading and relies upon stimulating the interest of the audience through creating authoritative arguments.

Information

Clear and concise professional writing is vital in many fields where misunderstanding could have serious consequences, such as in law, engineering, technical manuals and product labels.

Entertainment

Professional writing includes non-fiction or fiction for entertainment which may be in the form of essays, short stories, books, plays or screenplays across the whole range of writing genres.

Examples

• Law - case studies, briefs, client correspondence
• Marketing - advertising, market analysis, proposals
• Science and engineering - journals, technical data, manuals
• Retail - inventory reports, damage reports, data sheets, manuals, labels
• Entertainment - proposals, contracts, reviews, books
• Publishing - web content, proposals, contracts, book editing
• Military - operational reporting, orders production, policy or decision briefs, doctrine

Skills

The core skills required in professional writing are good communication, organized thought, a high standard of grammar and language, clarity and conciseness. Skills may be acquired through practise or formal learning. While many practitioners of professional writing do so as a vocation rather than as full-time employment, the element of "professionalism" is what defines professional writing. Such is the importance of professional writing in the modern world, many academic institutions offer courses up to degree level on the subject, with some tailored to specific professions such as social work.