Writing Administrative Textual Genres in Scholarly and Professional Contexts in Spain

Abstract

Textual genres in the field of Administration can be difficult to write for both university students and public administration employees, since they call for specific linguistic characteristics, which vary according to the genre and the recipient. This article gathers the results of an empirical study examining the perception of writing administrative textual genres for the general public among two groups in the academic and professional fields. The participating groups were made up of students enrolled at a Spanish state university and the staff of a local administration of reference. Data were based on a quantitative analysis of two surveys carried out among over 2000 people. The analysis allowed researchers to identify that the genres most frequently requested and those with which writers struggled the most, in both academic and professional contexts, were: report (informe), requisition (requerimiento), resolution (resolución), agreement (contrato) and minute (acta). It also revealed that the biggest challenges faced by both sets of people when having to write those genres were: unawareness of the proper structure and lexical choice. These findings confirm that both students and administrative professionals face issues when writing the textual genres specific to their field. Likewise, they suggest that there is some correspondence between university curricula and professional practice in terms of writing administrative genres.