BY Olalekan Dada
Choosing to pursue a major or minor in Professional Writing may be nerve-racking. Students who study Professional Writing (PW) may have chosen the concentration because they want to explore the realm of corporate communication or they figured that professional writing would produce more prospective job opportunities. Professional writing is a profession that does not receive as much attention as other disciplines, so many PW students do not know what professional writing is, nor do they know what they can do with a professional writing degree. This, at times, causes students to stress about after-college plans or even forget why they signed up for the Professional Writing program in the first place.
What is Professional Writing?
Professional writing is such a broad, puzzling concentration; many think it refers to writing works of literature like books or poems. However, professional writing is a completely different genre of writing. According to the Department of English at UAB, the Professional Writing program is for students who are “interested in non-fiction writing for corporate and public life.” UAB’s Professional Writing program works towards teaching students “academic and critical writing skills” that will prepare students for careers such as “technical writing, publishing, teaching, editing, and business.”
Professional writers use language to deliver information in a comprehensible manner. Publishing company Pearson asserts that the professional writing industry “is becoming a field of its own,” branching off from its counterpart of literary writing. Professional writing is a practical form of writing that is geared towards the specific needs of a corporation and the desires of an audience. Professional writers use clear and concise language to ensure that the copy they create is easily understood by an audience. This copy can range from an instruction manual for a laptop to a policy handbook for a company to a press release for a non-profit organization. This type of writing is not artistic; however, professional writers must have the finesse to use perfect rhetoric in order to achieve a desired result. Sometimes, this requires professional writers to adopt the “voice” of the organization they are affiliated with in order to convey a message in a certain way. In business contexts, professional writers need to be able to persuade an audience to complete an action desired by a company, whether that is purchasing a product or simply getting the audience to view the company in a good light.
The major theme of Professional Writing is clarity. Unlike creative writing, professional writing requires writers to refrain from using highly decorated language in their writing. This is a skill that seems to be a simple task; however, it is not as easy as it sounds. For example, think about all of those times where your high school teachers told you to keep the “excess fluff” out of your papers and only include information relevant to the topic. Remember how difficult it was to meet the page requirement when you took all of those extra adjectives and unnecessary explanatory phrases out? This is typically the case in professional writing (especially technical writing). There are times when the required word count is higher than you think you can meet, which means you must find more necessary information to place in your writing. Other times, the required word count may be significantly lower than you expect, which may require you to remove a little information. Either way, professional writing requires writers to know when they are saying too much and when they are not saying enough.
Careers for Professional Writers
Since professional writing is such a broad subject, the number of careers available to professional writers is huge. Some professional writers land careers in the technical writing industry. Technical writing is a form of writing that is used to relay information about products in a simple manner. Projects for technical writers range from writing owner’s manuals for products to creating procedure handbooks for companies. This field requires writers to learn about the various tasks that occur at their company and be able to effectively communicate these tasks with others. Having knowledge of technologies and corporate software is also of significance for many technical writers because, according to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, they work with “engineers, scientists, computer specialists, and software developers.” Technical writers work with a variety of disciplines, so they must be flexible and able to learn the basics of a company’s work in order to successfully complete their work.
Business writing is another field professional writers can be found in. Also known as “corporate communicators,” these writers work towards building and maintaining the brand of a company or organization. Much like technical writing, business writers must keep their language simple and easy to understand. Dana Driscoll of the Purdue Owl states that “[b]usiness writers should consider the tone of their message, whether they are writing a memo, letter, report, or any type of business document.” A business writer acts as the voice of the company she or he is working for, so it is imperative that their work is not offensive or harsh. The work of a business writer ranges from conducting research to create strategy statements to writing press releases for a corporation. Business writers adopt the voice of the organization they are representing by carefully analyzing the company’s mission statement and purpose.
Although there is a range of careers to follow in writing, not all professional writers have the desire to write for a company. Many students pursue a degree in professional writing to supplement their law career. According to University of Texas blogger Wayne Schiess, lawyers must be professional writers for there are various people and things at stake with their writing. Schiess says the written work of lawyers is “subject to serious scrutiny.” So many people have to approve or hear the writing of a lawyer (the client, opposing counsel, judge), so it must be clear and accurate. Being a professional writer allows lawyers to communicate their message effectively.
Professional writing may be a concentration that does not call for literary creativity; however, there are opportunities for professional writers to use their ability to summarize and get to the point in advertising. Copywriting is a career path for professional writers who have a passion for clear writing, yet still want to hold on to their creativity. Copywriters write text for advertising purposes. These writers may work on create brochures and flyers for companies, television commercial scripts, and company slogans. A professional writer that goes into copywriting has the ability to condense the values and mission of an organization and communicate it to varying audiences. Copywriters typically work for public relations businesses or marketing departments in a company.
Pursuing a degree in professional writing does not have to be as scary as a decision as it seems. There are numerous opportunities available for professional writers, and this may be the concern of many students in the professional writing disciple. Professional writing is a far-reaching concentration that is beneficial in any discipline. So if you plan on going to graduate school or directly into the workforce after graduation, keep in mind that there are many opportunities for professional writers.
