Some Thoughts on the Course "Military Document Writing"

[Abstract] Possessing a certain level of written material capability in the career development of non-commissioned officers is not only a fundamental skill but also a "ladder" to professional success. Military document writing, as an important functional task, is one of the professional skills that must be mastered in the career development of non-commissioned officers, especially for mid to senior-level non-commissioned officers. Therefore, it is necessary for non-commissioned officer trainees to understand the basic knowledge of military document writing, master the formats and writing methods of commonly used document types, improve their writing quality, and enhance their job competence.

【Keywords】Military Documents｜Writing｜Non-Commissioned Officer Cadets

With the deepening of educational and teaching reforms in military academies, the systematic construction and curriculum design of non-commissioned officer courses have been increasingly refined. The "Military Document Writing" course, being highly practical, has gained significant attention in our institution and has gradually become one of the elective courses for cultivating non-commissioned officer talents. In recent years, the school has offered the Military Document Writing course in higher vocational and technical education, some initial to intermediate professional programs, and intermediate to advanced non-commissioned officer training. This course is undergoing a development process from non-existence to existence, and from weakness to strength. Throughout this process, we have been continuously contemplating and exploring how to effectively teach the "Military Document Writing" course to non-commissioned officer students.

I. The Importance of Offering the "Military Document Writing" Course in Military Academies

In recent years, with the advancement of non-commissioned officer (NCO) education, military academies have undergone profound changes in the training models and mechanisms for NCO talents. To better adapt to the new demands of informationized warfare on NCO talent development and to effectively enhance the military quality and combat capabilities of NCOs, the curriculum must be designed to meet the future career development needs of NCOs. Military document writing is integral throughout all military activities. Therefore, our academy has introduced the "Military Document Writing" course, aiming to strengthen the military document writing skills of NCO cadets. This is of significant importance for improving the level of military unit construction, enhancing organizational and command efficiency, and completing military tasks to a high standard.

Research indicates that as early as the 1980s, some universities in Western developed countries began to focus on and emphasize the cultivation of students' writing skills, offering courses in practical writing. In our country, an important criterion for recruiting talents in enterprises and institutions is the ability to write practical documents, especially official documents. Therefore, some experts believe that in today's rapidly developing information society, reading and writing skills have become the most fundamental abilities for talents, especially in practical reading and writing. Currently, major universities have introduced corresponding courses in practical writing. Tsinghua University officially announced the introduction of a compulsory course titled "Writing and Communication" for freshmen, aiming to enhance students' language expression skills, improve communication abilities, and cultivate logical and critical thinking skills.

A notable characteristic of official document writing is its functional and standardized nature, which requires strong practical application skills. In today's society, individual competence is highly valued, and competency-based education has become a fundamental trend in higher vocational education to meet the demands of socio-economic development. Military vocational education is no exception. After graduation, military cadets return to their units, where their career development is closely tied to factors such as their political-military qualities, knowledge structure, learning attitude, and personal character. Additionally, the proficiency of their acquired skills and the intensity of their training also play a significant role. However, based on past teaching experiences and outcomes regarding cadets' official document writing skills, the most glaring deficiency lies in their lack of basic knowledge and literacy in this area. As a result, their grasp of formatting, style, and wording in official documents remains weak. Given both the future needs of the military and the actual skill levels of the cadets, the official document writing course can effectively cultivate practical writing skills and is a highly applicable subject. Therefore, institutions training military personnel should place sufficient emphasis on teaching this course.

二、《军用公文写作》课程教学的现状与问题

(1) The practical writing skills of the trainees are generally poor.

An analysis of classroom assignments in recent years reveals that the writing skills of non-commissioned officer (NCO) cadets are generally weak. A previous in-class survey conducted by an instructor showed that over % of the cadets had never taken courses or training on practical writing, and even fewer possessed any relevant skills in military document writing. Among the mere % who believed they had been exposed to military documents, many still exhibited deficiencies in written expression and disorganized logical structure in their compositions. These findings indicate that NCO cadets generally lack strong writing abilities.

The analysis reveals two main reasons: First, the majority of military cadets have a relatively weak foundation in language skills, which is also reflected in the textual quality of their professional papers. Second, today's military cadets are accustomed to expressing themselves in online environments—typing instead of handwriting and using emojis instead of precise wording. As a result, many cadets lack even basic written expression skills, often finding themselves "at a loss when picking up a pen." Therefore, it is essential to enhance their practical writing abilities through the "Military Document Writing" course.

(2) The teaching model of the course is relatively outdated.

The practical nature of official document writing courses requires learners to be meticulous, patient, and persistent. Additionally, the format of military official documents is strict, standardized, and follows fixed paradigms, which also necessitates instructors to focus on teaching the types of official documents and their writing requirements during the instruction process. Currently, the teaching method adopted by instructors at our institution is this "theory + sample documents" model—first explaining the theory, then introducing the specific writing methods for official documents, and finally presenting sample documents. While this teaching approach seems logical to instructors, its effectiveness for most beginner students is not always as expected.

First, the students have a weak foundation in official documents, coupled with no prior experience in handling them—some have never even been exposed to such documents. As a result, they often struggle with selecting the appropriate type of official document, understanding the essential components of different documents, and grasping the structure of the main text. Additionally, details such as document formatting, punctuation, word choice, and sentence construction further increase the difficulty of their learning. All these factors significantly diminish the students' interest, making the classroom atmosphere dull and tedious.

(3) The level of attention given to the curriculum is not yet comprehensive or in-depth.

As a discipline, official document writing has its own theoretical knowledge system, and the course of official document writing requires a certain amount of knowledge reserve. Therefore, to achieve good teaching results, students need to absorb a large amount of information and undergo extensive practical training to develop their capabilities. Currently, although the school offers the "Military Official Document Writing" course, the limited number of class hours makes it difficult to conduct systematic teaching. Additionally, the school lacks instructors with a professional background in writing, and the professional training for current course instructors is somewhat inadequate. These issues result in the difficulty of achieving substantial growth in the relevant skills of the students.

3. Countermeasures for the Teaching Reform of the "Military Document Writing" Course

In the process of cultivating the writing skills of military cadets, military document writing has effectively played its role and efficacy in course teaching. However, it is also important to recognize the challenges and issues faced. Practical and effective solutions should be proposed based on the actual conditions of the school, implemented in practice, and improved and enhanced in a planned and step-by-step manner.

(1) Schools should increase their emphasis on official document writing.

学校开设军用公文课程也是基于校领导和相关机构部门对《军用公文写作》课程重要认识。但要促进军士学员写作能力的提高，还需要配套的公文写作教学实际操作的具体教学环境。因此，学校应当为课程教学提供适宜的教学场所和保障条件。同时学校也要对授课教员提供系统的培训，从而提高教员的授课能力和专业知识。

(2) Teachers should improve their teaching methods, focusing on the development and utilization of teaching tools.

不同的教学模式下的教学效果也各有不同，应该根据军士职业发展的需求、学科体系的特点和学员的学习反馈来不断改进和创新教学模式，以追求良好的教学效果。在军用公文写作的教学中，教员可以在基于《军用公文写作》课程的特点之上，采用案例式教学方法，将学员认为难以理解记忆的理论知识设计、融入到与军队实际工作相接近的情景案例之中，一方面吸引学员的注意力，提升学习兴趣，另一方面也引导学员积极、主动地思考，提高课程教学质量。

In addition, instructors should fully leverage the significant role of various teaching methods in educational reform, adeptly using modern information teaching media such as multimedia, the internet, and computers to enhance teaching effectiveness. Instructors can also develop accompanying online courses and micro-videos to enrich teaching resources, which can compensate for the lack of course hours and help students expand their learning time and space to achieve the best teaching outcomes. In this process, the teaching abilities of instructors and their capabilities in course development and application can be greatly enhanced. Of course, teaching instructors must still hold onto the classroom as the "main battlefield," effectively playing their leading role, guiding students to master theoretical content while applying it to the practice of writing training.

(3) Trainees should motivate, reflect upon, and strengthen themselves, fully leveraging their initiative in learning.

For the students themselves, the impact of their beliefs and behavioral habits on learning is crucial. Currently, military cadets face two contradictions in learning military document writing: one is the contradiction between the students' low language proficiency and writing skills and the high-quality requirements of their positions; the other is the contradiction between the students' awareness of the importance of document writing skills and their own poor learning abilities. Therefore, the author believes that military cadets should first deeply realize the importance of cultivating basic abilities. They should motivate and introspect themselves ideologically, eliminating lazy and backward thoughts. Secondly, in action, students should take the initiative in their learning, consciously strengthen the practice of applied writing skills, and lay a good foundation for their future job competencies.

references

Jin Xiaoyu. Teaching Practice of Official Document Writing in Higher Vocational Education. Western Quality Education, (). Liu Zhe. Reflections on the Practical Teaching of Official Document Writing in Colleges. Vocational Education, (). He Debo. Problems and Countermeasures in Official Document Writing Teaching for Demobilized Military Officers. Continuing Education, (). Ren Fuquan. Research on Cultivating College Students' Writing Skills through Official Document Writing Teaching. Journal of Qingyuan Polytechnic, (). Yang Tie, Zhao Xinpan. Discussion on Improving the Quality of Official Document Writing in Military Institutions. Work Guidance, ().