Introduction
Research and writing skills are necessary for success in any career field. These two skills work in tandem. Research is the cornerstone of discovery, innovation, and problem-solving, while writing provides a way to communicate research outcomes. In the workplace, excellent research and writing skills improve career paths and boost professional achievements. These skills enable employees to develop a greater interest in their work and gain independence and a deeper understanding of their workplace. Honing these skills is, therefore, vital for everyone.
The purpose of research is exploration, description, and explanation. Description and explanation are best expressed through writing. Organizations worldwide utilize research and writing in their operations. They conduct research to better understand consumer motivations, perceptions, and expectations, or in their pursuit of discovery.
Successful organizations conduct market research to meet the ever-changing needs of the market, inform their decision-making, and maintain a competitive edge over their counterparts (McDaniel & Gates, 2018). All organizations incorporate writing at various levels. Effective writing enhances productivity and functionality in the workplace (Kolin, 2022). This paper opines that excellent writing and research skills are prerequisites for career success.
Preview
Research conducted in this work seeks to stress to students the importance of writing and research for a future career. It aims to encourage scholars to adopt research and writing practices and refine their skills. The first part of this work will take a case study approach to three career choices, exploring the importance of writing and research in these careers using primary sources for the majority of the part.
This section of the work will examine the importance of these skills to a scientist, a preschool teacher, and a bakery owner based in Paris. The second part of the study is divided into three parts that address the importance of writing and research in the workplace. The three parts discussed in this section are efficient workplace communication, career advancement, and critical thinking.
Career Case Studies
Scientist
Published or documented scientific works are valuable for future research. Scientists must know the issue they are addressing so they can disseminate information to others. Research enables scientists to understand the topics they’re covering, while proper writing skills enable them to disseminate their research work effectively (Pain, 2023).
Scientific research works are preserved and spread through writing. In an interview with Bruno Latour, conducted by Coccia (2023), he asserts that writing research papers is the most essential part of a scientific study. This opinion validates the assertion that writing and research techniques are fundamental skills for scientists.
All scientific works are almost the same in structure. The difference between these works lies in how the authors convey their research through writing. In an interview with Stephen Jay Gould, he explains his writing approach as one that tackles broad principles through the lens of aspects that encapsulate them (Moser, 2019). This approach has enabled him to secure several awards, demonstrating that writing styles and skills are crucial in conducting scientific research. Additionally, it’s worth noting from the interview that the proper presentation of scientific research benefits scientists, as it puts them in a better position to receive constructive criticism, advice, and even grants to advance their research (Moser, 2019). Therefore, efficient research and writing techniques are vital to scientists.
Bakery Owner
A bakery owner utilizes research and writing throughout the entire planning and execution phases. Writing skills are essential in drafting business plans and recipes, whereas research enables an entrepreneur to pitch products and service offerings in a much more appealing way to target consumers. Proper research during the planning phase enables a businessperson to set goals, identify a target clientele base, and examine the competition through market research (McDaniel & Gates, 2018).
Through research, a bakery owner can identify the products offered by competitors in the field and explore the market gap. In an interview with Apollonia Poilane, the world’s famous baker, she attributes her company’s success to timely recipes (Kemp, 2022). Recipe-making requires good research and writing skills, rendering these skills vital for business success.
Writing is an essential marketing skill. Through writing, bakery owners have an opportunity to engage with their clientele and get a better understanding of their needs. Writing presents them an opportunity to reach a larger audience, convey their ideas, and, in the process, build their brand.
The most common forms of marketing writing include blog posts and books, which require excellent research, writing, and organizational skills. Through her book, The Secrets of the World-Famous Bread Bakery, Poilane has reached a large clientele base (Kemp, 2022). This marketing strategy has significantly boosted her company’s sales, making it one of the most successful bakeries in France and worldwide.
Preschool Teacher
Educators, particularly preschool teachers, must stay informed about the latest research to provide learners with better learning opportunities. Teachers can communicate effectively with their students and pass down information to them through writing. Information presentation is vital in ensuring that learning outcomes are actualized.
A cognitive interview conducted by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) provides preschool teachers with essential information about how learners learn best, making them more effective educators (McKenna et al., 2021). The interview highlighted the importance of research in staying current with the constantly evolving trends in the education industry. According to McKenna et al. (2021), teachers with the latest teaching techniques reported better learning outcomes. As such, research and writing skills have a significant impact on the career success of preschool teachers.
The quality of preschool teachers is related to the quality of educational development and learning outcomes for young students. Educators’ lack of didactic content knowledge in teacher learning practice is a deterrent to their career success. Preschool teachers must adopt reasonable teacher-learning practices for their young scholars to boost learning outcomes.
The interview by NLM also suggests that teachers should be able to easily adapt to situations and employ teaching techniques that meet the current needs, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic (McKenna et al., 2021). The adoption of remote instruction learning would have been suitable for the period. A recent survey by Humas UPI (2021) suggests that the most effective form of teaching preschool children is through scaffolding writing, which involves directing, prompting, and reminding. To fully utilize these approaches, preschool teachers must develop and apply writing and research skills.
Importance of Writing and Research in the Workplace
Efficient Workplace Communication
Effective communication is essential for any organization. Effective communication is vital for a company’s internal and external operations (Tomlinson et al., 2018). Employees with excellent writing and research skills possess the necessary communication skills to communicate updates, projects, and events to their colleagues. External communication is showcased through company websites and blog posts (Kolin, 2022). An eye-catching website or blog post reinforces the company’s brand and, to a greater extent, the credibility of the employee managing the company’s external communication channels.
Companies tend to disseminate information through online publications such as blog posts. The internet is filled with numerous studies conducted by different companies (Jung, 2022). Organizations conducting research tend to employ personnel with polished writing and research prowess to serve this purpose.
A properly published research work enhances the credibility of the employee responsible for the work. It portrays their diligence and attention to detail, placing them in better positions for job-level elevation (Kolin, 2022).Also, proper research and writing prowess showcase employee professionalism, which is vital for career advancement. Without a doubt, these skill sets can greatly benefit employees seeking to scale high in their careers.
Career Advancement
The importance of research and writing begins at the hiring level. Excellent writing and research skills create a good impression during job recruitment and build on employee workplace reputation (Kolin, 2022). A good understanding of a prospective employer is vital in the job application process. To better understand a potential employer, a job seeker should conduct due diligence through research. Effective email conversations, cover letters, and resumes showcase excellent writing and research skills during job applications (Jung, 2022). It is, therefore, important for young scholars and even employed individuals to polish these skills as they are vital to their career path.
All employees seek to advance their careers. Tomlinson et al. (2018) define career advancement as how professionals leverage their skill sets and willpower to attain new career goals and better job placements. Research and writing are among the skill sets required for career advancement (Jung, 2022). These skills are essential during research and reporting in organizations.
When writing research reports, employees must employ the research writing skills they have acquired over time. Organizations, more often than not, tend to elevate employees with proper report-writing skills to higher positions. As such, honing research and writing skills is essential for employees seeking to advance their careers.
Critical Thinking
Critical thinking entails problem-solving and decision-making. Through research engagement, employees can engage systematically, fostering problem-solving and decision-making capabilities (Reyes, 2023). Workplace-based research requires polished research and writing skills.
A good research paper aims at identifying a problem, if not already identified, seeking solutions to the problem, and making recommendations. According to Reyes (2023), companies seek to employ personnel who can cope with pressure and quickly navigate challenges. Writing and research help to build on problem-solving and decision skills, a prerequisite for organizational success.
Conclusion
This paper discusses how writing and research are essential for a future career. This study provides students with enough evidence on the importance of honing writing and research skills in preparation for future career paths. The three career choices discussed herein provide firsthand evidence of these skills’role in professional advancement. The second part builds on the already explored career choices and provides a broad overview of how these skills facilitate career success using secondary sources to support the argument.
This work shows that research and writing go hand in hand, as earlier asserted. Therefore, it implores students to develop an interest in these skills if they aim to succeed in their careers, regardless of their career path. It is almost impossible to imagine that professionals would scale to higher levels of their careers without excellent research and writing skills, as these skills are essential in virtually all fields. In summary, strong writing and research abilities are essential for success in one’s career.
References
Coccia, E. (2023). An interview with Bruno Latour. Asymptote. Web.
Humas UPI. (2021). The importance of scientific writing ability for students: Approach methods, teaching obstacles, and research quality. Portal Berita, Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia. Web.
Jung, Y. (2022). Sociolinguistics and business talk: A role-playing approach. Palgrave Macmillan.
Kemp, M. (2022). The leavened truth on lockdown: An interview with Apollonia Poilâne. Bonjour Paris. Web.
Kolin, P. (2022). Successful writing at work. Cengage Learning.
McDaniel, C., & Gates, R. (2018). Marketing research (11th ed.). John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
McKenna, M., Soto-Boykin, X., Cheng, K., Haynes, E., Osorio, A., & Altshuler, J. (2021). Initial development of a national survey on remote learning in early childhood during COVID-19: Establishing content validity and reporting successes and barriers. Early Childhood Education Journal, 49(5), 815–827. Web.
Moser, C. (2019). The enigma of Stephen Jay Gould: The account of Gould’s science and politics is more complicated than critics acknowledge. Skeptic, 24(1). Web.
Pain, E. (2023). How to write a research paper. Science. Web.
Reyes, K. (2023). How mastering writing skills can help you in future career. Grantford Financial Aid Blog. Web.
Tomlinson, J., Baird, M., Berg, P., & Cooper, R. (2018). Flexible careers across the life course: Advancing theory, research and practice. Human Relations, 71(1), 4–22. Web.