3. Surface Cultural Elements
Surface cultural elements are those aspects of culture
that we can easily see, such as:
Art
Food
Dress
Music
Holidays
4. Deep Cultural Elements
Deep cultural elements are those aspects of culture
that we can not easily see, such as:
Attitudes
Beliefs
Norms
Values
Concepts
5. Writing Style
Deep cultural elements affect the writing style
generally valued in each culture
Cultural elements such as the following inform writing
style:
Concepts of politeness
Concepts of time
Power and relationships
Methods of argument
Concepts of respect
Many others
6. Writer Responsible (WR) Writing
Style
Usually associated with Western cultures (the U.S., Canada, and
Western Europe)
Values:
Clarity
Concision
Actions
Practicality
Logic
Stating the obvious
Responsibilities:
Attract and maintain reader interest
Guide the reader through the text with overlapping organization
7. Reader Responsible (RR) Writing
Style
Usually associated with non-Western cultures (many Asian, African,
and South American cultures)
Values:
Flowery, ornate prose
Subjects over actions
Theory
Inductive Reasoning
Indirect statements
Proverbs and sayings
Metaphor
Responsibilities:
Provide rich detail and context
Loose connections between ideas so the reader can interpret meaning
8. Ethos, Logos, and Pathos
Writer responsible cultures think logos (logic) is most
persuasive
Reader responsible cultures think ethos (credibility)
and pathos (emotion) are more important
9. Sources and Citation
Ancient texts/ lore (non-Western cultures) vs. current
and quantifiable references (Western cultures)
Some cultures do not cite sources
Many non-Western cultures use maxims, proverbs,
sayings, famous quotes
People in other countries may not have access to
current sources as we do in databases, etc.
10. Coherence
Based on individual interpretation
Parallel progression – clear and explicit connection
between sentences and ideas; topic remains the same
Sequential progression – topics of sentences are
different from one another; connection may seem
disrupted
Extended parallel progression – introduction and
conclusion are consistent but the body is non-
sequential
11. Sentence Cohesion
The smaller connections between sentences and ideas
(transitions)
WR: Sentences link directly to one another through the
use of transition words
RR: Sentences are related but different with no clear
transitions
12. Style
Writer Responsible
Explicit, clear, accumulative, concise, responsive to a reader’s
needs
Do not overwrite, and do not use qualifiers, extra details, or
clichés
Based on the idea of equality and the “general” reader
Reader Responsible
Flowery, detailed, thought-provoking, repetitious, varied
vocabulary and sentence-structures
Based on the idea that not all readers are the same, and they
need to be challenged
13. Views of the “Other” Writing
Style
WR audiences tend to think that RR writing is circular,
illogical, cliché, vague, indecisive, and confusing
RR audiences tend to think that WR writing is bold,
abrupt, rude, or disrespectful
14. Important Points
It’s important to understand your own preferences for writing
style, realizing that it may be a mix of the two
Remember that there are individual preferences within every
culture
Neither style is “right” or “wrong”
Since communication also involves receiving messages, it is
important to be able to effectively understand WR and RR
messages without negative judgment
For communication in a global workplace, it will be beneficial
to learn how to write both ways
