What do planners do? Last month I highlighted the findings of several surveys of planners aiming to identify core skills for the workplace. They highlight the importance of skills in communication, information analysis and synthesis, political savvy, and basic workplace competencies and attitudes. In all these surveys, however, the ability to write well is at or near the top in each case.
Writing memos and producing reports is part of the curriculum in every planning school and can be learned on the job with good mentoring from senior planners. However, several online sources of information are also available for honing the skills of planners. Most are focused on academic writing but have relevance for professional work. While professional writing texts exist, few are free.
· John Forester at Cornell University provides advice for writing at the masters level, dealing with issues of writing practice, structure and mechanics, and reader expectations: http://www.people.cornell.edu/pages/jff1/NotesonWritingforMastersStudents.htm. This 2007 document is a valuable checklist. A longer paper, from 1984, reflects on the craft of academic writing: http://www.people.cornell.edu/pages/jff1/learningacadwrtg.htm.
· At Michigan, Scott Campbell also provides advice for academic writers: http://www-personal.umich.edu/~sdcamp/up540/writingtips.html.
· Martin Krieger from USC has been posting “This Week’s Finds in Planning” for over a decade. This is a terrific resource. Aimed at doctoral students and faculty members it also provides some useful advice for others. This short blog is one of his best (and while I have not always followed it, I have regretted those times): http://blogs.usc.edu/sppd/krieger/2007/06/the_first_sentence_should_give.html
· Ann Markusen’s writing course syllabus at the University of Minnesota provides a number of useful references: http://www.hhh.umn.edu/academics/syllabi/pdf/f04_sum05/pa5990-3.pdf
· My own planetizen blogs provide advice about writing including finishing a project http://www.planetizen.com/node/30995 and writing a proposal http://www.planetizen.com/node/29949. I provide longer advice for my own students at http://www.annforsyth.net/CRP_ForsythEssentialInfo_2008.pdf (skip to the last couple of for a checklist and the last page for references). A more academic piece, my 1999 article ‘On Writing and Tenure,” is available on Randy Crane's useful blog: http://planning-research.com/forsyth-on-writing-and-tenure/
My September blog, one day late!
