In contemporary academic and business environments, working with others is not just a highly valued skill—it is a necessity. Such collaboration happens when peers work together on a shared document, when classmates divide research and writing duties to create a multimedia presentation, when reviewers share advice on a draft, or when colleagues in an office offer their views on appropriate revisions for a companywide 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 digital 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 27.)