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

"Real-world" assignments, though pedagogically desirable for professional writing students at university, are often difficult to find. However, public schools can provide a variety of writing assignments that are suitable for students in either introductory 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 welcome writing assistance from university students. While there are many opportunities for such an alliance at the local level, the Internet allows university students the opportunity to work with school students separated both in terms of miles and of culture. The use of the Internet allows the professional writing teacher to integrate relevant technology (e-mail, Internet chat, Web boards, Web pages) with the assigned writing tasks. Finally, the university students appear to appreciate assignments with a clearly-defined audience and purpose, and they seem to enjoy helping an over-burdened public school system.