In contemporary academic and business environments, working with others is a highly valued skill. Such collaboration happens when classmates divide research and writing duties to create a multimedia presentation, when peer reviewers share advice on a draft, or when colleagues in an office offer their views on appropriate revisions for a company-wide document.

Because people all over the world now have the ability to research, study, write, and work together, you must be able to communicate effectively within and across cultures. Conventions for academic writing (or for forms of online communication) can vary from culture to culture, from discipline to discipline, and from one form of English to another. What is considered polite in one culture may seem rude in another, so those who communicate globally must take care to avoid giving offense—or taking it where none was intended. (For more information on writing across cultures, see Chapter 17.)