One of my key aspirations during this internship is to develop a better versatility in my writing. In the context of this internship, I have to adapt to a certain way of writing when it comes to writing and proofreading company documents, policies, etc that I, in other circumstances, wouldn’t write in that way. Each task I am given for this internship further sharpens that skill, and enables me to understand the versatility of writing essays vs. crafting formal documents. It gives me a better opportunity to write professionally in different areas, which I appreciate.
Writing for a company that strives for professionalism and effective communication pushes me to refine my editing skills and making sure my writing and proofreading is up to standard. While there is a certain pressure to that, I would say it actually helps me strive to think more carefully about word choices because they have a significant impact on how these documents and policies look as well as present itself.
There are times (many) where my drafts are looked over by my team and supervisor and needs to be heavily edited to fit certain requirements, making sure the documents are up to professional standard. This type of writing requires precision, as each word has the potential to be, perhaps, misinterpreted. Going over writings like these bring forth my attention to detail as well as realizing that even the smallest edits have a big impact. Whether it’s restructuring a sentence or even choosing a better word, every small edit contributes to the final draft of the document and is essential to communicate the message in a clear and concise way.
Alternatively, there are times where I am tasked to write or edit for a more creative or less precise form of writing, like flyers, ads, or certain things belonging to internal communications. This type of writing isn’t as structured, and enables me to use another form of writing, where I aim to balance between informative and approachable. Keeping the content engaging while still maintaining professionalism further develops this skill of understanding different styles of writing based on the intended audience.
It’s definitely a learning curve, but this experience has so far enabled me to maintain consistency, which is a great skill to have for a career in writing in the future.
Henny – it certainly sounds as if the W group is putting you through the paces! There is such a fundamental difference between even the best of abstractly “good” or “clear” writing, and writing *with purpose*, with a particular aim, audience, and, thus, prescribed style. As a complement to some of our discussions in 221 about copyediting and proofreading, these restrictions are quite precise, but they also can prove an insightful and rigorous way to assess your own “defaults” as a writer. Of course, at W, that’s all in service to the company’s mission, and its business. But it’s also a process that can result in useful insights into how one writes in any case, which it sounds like it has been for you. – LBN