Hello, and welcome to my blog.
I’m admittedly coming from a somewhat conflicted frame of mind.
I’ll be using this blog to reflect my understanding of my Advanced Professional Writing course, the final class of my Professional Writing classification. I chose the concentration because I favor clear, concise writing over any other. It also supplements how I write my articles for news stories and commentaries. However, I have not done as well in professional writing classes as I’ve done in others, even earning a “D” in my Specialized Professional Writing class. The others have been B’s, by bare margin. Truthfully, my sub-par grades are the result of my disinterest in the subject. I know, ironic.
I’m aware of the importance of professional writing in the workplace. I love well-written emails, and am indebted to copy editors. (See my article in Study Breaks Magazine on the importance of copy editors here). I say this being aware, too, that journalists, especially editors, use memos, reports, and press releases regularly. This use of professional writing I support and partake in. But professional writing’s structure of using familiar, clear language can also be used as a way to make a contentious situation sound positive.
For example:
Last year, I covered faculty layoffs within the College of Liberal and Fine Arts (COLFA) as a staff writer for The Paisano, the independent student newspaper for the UTSA community. I acquired a memo drafted by the dean of COLFA addressed to faculty and staff that alerted of an impending “budget adjustment” that would result in the decreasing the amount of core courses, as no funding was available to cover the overages incurred by the college. Some adjunct faculty, teaching less than three classes a semester, were suddenly without the insurance protections allocated with teaching said number of courses. Some faculty members I interviewed had to take jobs at other universities to offset their losses. Some lost all their courses and left to teach at other universities. The dean assured this situation would be short-term, but these courses continue to decrease, and more faculty are leaving UTSA. On follow-up investigations by me and my staff, the public relations, or communications, officers continued to say that things were looking up, but faculty said otherwise. I learned, then, that public relations were the antithesis of journalism.
This experience, and many others while pursuing investigative stories, has not made me cynical towards professional writing. I know it can be used for the clear, information-focused purpose that it is taught as being. Because now, as co-news editor of The Paisano, I’ve had to use the professional writing skills I learned. It is not as bad as my arrogant, self-righteous staff-writer self thought it was. This is why I have not, and will not, drop my major concentration. I am approaching this course, now, more objectively than I did with the other professional writing courses I’ve taken. My blog posts will be my understanding of the craft as I learn it, where I’ll attempt to provide an honest reflection of my experience in the course. I hope these writings will assist other students currently taking the course, or soon will be. This blog is also for those that disagree with my views on professional writing. I welcome any constructive criticism. We’re all writers in the end.
Though I don’t plan to write entirely in professional writing, I do intend to write professionally. I want to continue learning professional writing so I understand when it is being used benevolently, and when it isn’t. Also, I’ll be taking this course mindful of my classmates that want to pursue professional writing jobs, like being a publisher, editor, copy editor, and so on. I want to stay on the news beat, but someone has to do those writing jobs, and it should be those that truly enjoy and respect the craft, not just someone who is capable of doing so. These students will undoubtedly help me understand professional writing’s virtues.
On Writing (Professionally) 