William Teston and Tim Alfieri

ENGL297 - Ethnography of a Professional Writer

A Study of a Professional Writer at the Qingdao International School of
Shandong
Introduction
With technology evolving at rapid speeds and communication and
transportation becoming easier and more accessible than ever, languages
are one of the only obstacles between people. For many people, the
necessity for translation doesnt go very far beyond basic phrases. While
simple phrases from a translation app may suffice while operating as a
tourist, a much deeper understanding of the native language is necessary to
work or live in a foreign country.
Translation software generally provides a very basic translation
meaning there will be inaccuracies when dealing with very specific details
and information. When lengthy information with specific details needs to be
conveyed, basic translation software wont always suffice. This could require
work with professional translators or native speakers of the language. When
working in an environment that involves multiple languages, being able to
write a concise document that can be translated into other languages is a
necessary skill. In chapter 15 of Solving Problems in Technical
Communication, Blakeslee and Savage, focus on management of
documentation processes and projects, which involve both interpersonal and

technological skills.(364). Strong interpersonal and technological skills are

necessary when writing for a diverse community of multiple cultures,
ethnicities, and languages. To learn about the writing, editing, and
translating processes, we worked with Dr. Jay Teston, the Director of Qingdao
International School of Shandong.
This study looks into the writing processes involved in the work of a
director of an international school, who works with the school budget, school
safety, yearly plans for the school and many other projects. Specifically, it
will examine the writing processes and the project management of the
director of an international school. According to Dicks in chapter 10 of the
textbook, Technical communicators need to know how to manage projects
using both traditional, waterfall project management methods and newer,
less time-consuming and more user-oriented methods/model (310). Our
examination will be done through the comparison and analysis of various
documents provided by Dr. Teston. The documents are seen first in a draft
stage, then compared to the final versions. Other information was gathered
through personal interviews and research questions. We used these methods
to better understand and document the writing and project management
processes.

Research Location and Subject

Dr. Jay Teston and his staff work at the Qingdao International School of
Shandong, in the Shandong province of China. The campus is split into three
buildings, one being a middle school, one a high school, and the last a staff
building. The staff/administration building contains the offices of the
administration, commons areas and meeting rooms. Doors remain closed
most of the time, but communication is open between the staff at all times
via instant messaging software. When outside of the offices, staff members
can be reached at any time through the same messaging software on their
cell phones.
Our informant acts as the director of the whole campus. As the school
director Dr. Teston oversees approximately 80 staff members and 260
students. The staff and students are from many different ethnic
backgrounds, making clear writing and communication necessary in order to
have proper collaboration. The different ethnic backgrounds of his faculty
and student body consist of Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Tai, Pilipino, as well
as several different European countries. As a person who is multilingual, Dr.
Teston knows firsthand the problems that can occur when writing is not clear
or translated improperly. Dr. Testons professional experience along with his
personal experiences can provide plenty of useful information for our
research.

Data Collection Procedure

As our project is focused on the writing process and project manage

aspects of writing, we used two main research methods. To get information
from multiple resources, we resorted to a mix of interviews and hands on
research. We looked at documents in their drafting stages and their finished
stages to get a look at what changes between revisions and what is deemed
acceptable as a finished project. We also interviewed Dr. Teston to get
firsthand information.
As Dr. Jay Teston works in Shandong, China, it is unfortunately not
possible for either of us to conduct an in-person interview. Because of this
our research has been conducted entirely online through emails and a Skype
interview. Our interview focused on Dr. Testons experiences with the writing
and translation process.
The documents provided to us consisted of official documents for the
school in various stages of revision. We were given documents in their draft
stages and their published stages, which enabled us to examine them and
compare the changes between revisions. We inspected and analyzed this
documents ourselves, but also asked Dr. Teston about them to find out why
certain changes were made and if any problems occurred during the writing
of the drafts. Unfortunately, Dr. Jay Teston requested that we do not include
information gathered from these documents into our report, as they are
official documents and he wishes for them to remain private.

Results- The Writing Process

As the director of the Qingdao International School of Shandong, Dr. Jay
Teston has complete responsibility over the creation of all formal documents.
Dr. Jay Teston does not have a team of writers assisting him, only a team of
translators with one native English speaker that can assist in editing. To start
off the interview Dr. Jay Teston informed us that not only does All the writing
come from me originally.(Teston), but that he is almost always responsible
for deciding the direction each document will take. Because of this large
responsibility, it is only natural that Dr. Jay Teston have a dedicated writing
process to deal with such an important task.
Dr. Jay Testons writing process has evolved over the years as he has
grown more accustomed to his work environment. The first and most
important step in his process is to begin by analyzing who his main audience
is, as well as who else may end up reading the document. Considering the
extremely diverse community that Dr. Jay Teston works in, analyzing his
target audience is important to not only effectively get his message across
but also to avoid offending anyone.
The Chinese and Korean communities in particular prove difficult for Dr.
Jay Teston to write for. Not only are they the largest communities in the
school but they take everything literally and are very big on the concept of

saving face. These aspects of the Chinese and Korean communities prevent
him from telling jokes or speaking informally, even in a private setting, until
he has well established a personal connection and crossed the cultural
divide. Dr. Jay Teston must also avoid ever embarrassing any of his Korean
and Chinese faculty members or putting their personal issues into the public
light. While other faculty members may be ok with certain issues being
public, the members of the Chinese and Korean community take deep
offense due to their strong fixation with saving face. Even if he is not writing
for these communities he told us that when you write you dont know where
it could end up (Teston) so he must always keep these cultural differences in
mind. To add onto these issues there are also many phrases that the Chinese
community, including Dr. Jay Testons translators, find very offensive. While
he was unable to recall any specific phrases or incidents Dr. Jay Teston
remembers being privately confronted and questioned on several occasions.
The European communities and the remaining Asian communities are
much easier for Dr. Jay Teston to appease. The Europeans, who come from
countries such as Spain, France, Germany, and Slovakia, all speak some form
of English. This is in thanks to the strict foreign language requirements within
many European high schools. Some even require the knowledge of five
separate languages before a student can graduate. Because our own culture
has more in common with European cultures than with Asian cultures it is
easier for Dr. Jay Teston to navigate those interactions. While the remaining
Asian communities do not have any major cultural differences to the degrees

of the Koreans and Chinese that Dr. Jay Teston must be mindful of, his writing
still needs to be translated to their languages. This makes it possible for him
to accidentally offend them with certain phrases but his translators are very
skilled at avoiding this issue.
The next step in Dr. Jay Testons writing process is to reflect on exactly
what message he wants his documents to convey. Given the fact that his
documents must be translated across multiple languages it is important to
keep each sentence as short and precise as possible. Considering the
cultural differences, no matter what kind of document he is writing it must
always be treated as a formal document. Even personal letters to parents or
staff must treated with caution and preparation. There are no informal
documents in Dr. Jay Testons line of work, only differing letters of formality.
While the initial formalization of documents is largely up to Dr. Jay
Teston, there are times when he must consult with what is referred to as the
schools leadership group. This group consists of the school principal, the two
assistant principals, the head of marketing, the school guidance counselors,
and of course Dr. Jay Teston himself. When incredibly sensitive information is
involved, such as letters to the board of trustees or the local community, this
group gathers to provide input for how Dr. Jay Teston should proceed. Once
the overall message and direction has been decided upon Dr. Jay Teston
begins outlining in bullet points. The next step is for Dr. Jay Teston to write
the initial draft of the document based upon either his own analysis or the
input of the leadership group if necessary. During his earlier years at the

school he often wrote his notes and drafts on paper but has since moved on
to using a laptop. It was quite pleasing to hear from Dr. Jay Teston that he
often uses free writing to begin his drafts, as this is a technique that we both
employ.
The final step in Dr. Jay Testons writing process is, of course, to send
the documents off to his translators. He initially sends the documents to
English speaking translator as he provides the first round of edits to the
documents. Once Dr. Jay Teston is satisfied with the draft it is sent to the rest
of his translating team where they too make edits to the document. These
edits however are much more technical as they focus only on the grammar,
spelling, and sentence structures to allow for the document to properly
translate to other languages. The translators are not supposed to change the
overall message in anyway as that could cause confusion or conflict.
Despite having a team of skilled translators this final step still requires
a very delicate approach. As mentioned earlier Dr. Jay Teston must be
mindful to avoid certain phrases that may offend some cultures. Over the
years, Dr. Jay Teston has developed enough of a personal relationship with
his translating team to not have to worry so much about possibly offending
him. He still, however, must be very mindful about the rest of the faculty and
local community as the school contains over thirty different cultures, many of
which make up the Chinese and Korean communities. There are also
between ten and fifteen separate languages spoken within the school. Such
diversity makes cultural sensitivity an enormous factor in the finalization of

all documents. We asked Dr. Jay Teston if he uses any kind of special
translating tools or software to make this process easier for himself. My
advice is to never use any of those things. (Teston), he told us. In his
experience, all translating software and translation books are extremely
literal and make it easy to offend people. Thus, he never relies upon any of
these tools and instead trusts his translating team completely. Naturally the
more experienced translators are entrusted with the translation of the more
formal and important documents.

Conclusion
Despite being unable to personally meet with Dr. Jay Teston our
interview with him still provided us with immensely valuable information. The
basis of our study was primarily to understand the writing process involved
when preparing formal documents for translation. Ultimately, however, we
learned

far

more

about

the

importance

of

cultural

sensitivity

and

understanding when writing. Even if no translation process will be involved in

the creation of your documents, analyzing your intended and potential
audiences is still a key step. This not only helps to avoid any possible
conflicts but serves to make your message as clear as possible to anyone
that may read your writing. Dr. Jay Testons summarized this well when he

said that when you write you dont know where it could end up. (Teston)
This study provides future Professional Writing students with a perfect
example of the importance of audience analysis. Whether you are writing
across multiple different cultures and communities, or simply for a single
person, it is always imperative to first think to yourself who will be reading
your work.

Works Cited
Blakeslee and Savage. What do Technical Communicators Need to Know
About Writing?

Solving Problems in Technical Communication. Ed. Johndan

Johnson-Eilola and Stuart

Press, 2013. 362-385. Print.

A. Selber. Chicago: University of Chicago

Dicks, Stanley. How Can Technical Communicators Manage Projects?

Solving Problems in

Technical Communication. Ed. Johndan Johnson-Eilola

and Stuart A. Selber. Chicago:

University of Chicago Press, 2013. 310-

332. Print.
Teston, Jay. Skype Interview. 11/30/2016.