Volume 8 Issue 1 – MEMORANDUM

Computer Science and Professional Writing

Image courtesy of UAB Marketing and Communications

By: John Channell

Computer Science and Professional Writing seem like an incongruous pairing for a major and minor combination, but I promise it is not. There are many different applications where having this major and minor combo can be a great idea. This article will go over why I think it is a good idea to consider Computer Science and Professional Writing to be a strong pairing.

Why Choose Professional Writing?

There are many different paths that someone with a Computer Science degree needs. You can become a software engineer, database administrator, full-stack developer, cybersecurity analyst. In these situations, you may need a way to ensure that everyone who works with you can understand any changes that are made. For a full-stack developer or a software engineer, you might need to write instructions on how to use your new program or website. This is where the professional writing minor can be very beneficial.

At the same time, a career in database administration and cybersecurity analytics could require you to create an after-action report.

Whenever you make changes, your supervisor may ask what happened on the database or any security measures were added or changed. With a writing minor, you can be confident in your skills to respond with a professional memo.

What does Professional Writing teach you?

The Introduction to Professional Writing class teaches you how to compose professional documents. This includes memorandums, formal letters, and technical documents. The work done in class focuses on writing as a process. Students learn to research, design documents, and edit their writing to meet standards that could be issued by a future supervisor.

This class teaches you how to write in a way that most business will see as a standard. Memos are written differently than most other formal letters. Introduction to Professional Writing teaches you the standards of how to write memos and other formal letters, such as progress reports. Ultimately, writing created by a student who has taken this class will be more polished than someone who has not taken the class.

Professional Writing in Applications

By: Hannah Jurkiewicz

I recently took EH 315: Intro to Professional Writing and I found the skills required to write professionally translate outside of writing careers. Many scholarship and fellowship applications have word or character limits making it important to choose your words wisely.

Introductory professional writing courses provide students with the skills to write effective and clear documents, ensuring their readers will understand their purpose.

When applying for competitive scholarships, fellowships and grants these skills will be beneficial and may help to set your application apart.

The Seven Cs of Professional Writing will help you complete your scholarship application with ease.

What are the Seven Cs?

Clear
Coherent
Complete
Concise
Courteous
Concrete
Correct

When it comes to applications with word limits, it is important to emulate these seven characteristics.

Oftentimes, applications ask for personal essays and responses to questions to gain an understanding of you and your goals. You want to convey yourself in the most complete and clear way possible so your audience can see how you stand out and are the best recipient for the scholarship.

Begin by understanding the prompt for the application and start writing what comes to mind. Having an understanding of what you are being asked to write will help you provide the most correct response.

It might be helpful to begin by writing your narrative response with all the information you want to say. Then, through editing, you pick out what is most important to the story for the application. Editing down allows you to be more concise and concrete about what you want the reader to gain.

Continue to reflect on the prompt and narrow down the details you find most pertinent to your response. The editing process will also aid in creating a coherent and complete narrative for your audience.

"Through understanding and editing your responses multiple times, you will have a product you feel conveys you as best as possible."

Scholarships are highly competitive and require time and effort to apply to. Scholarship applications challenge candidates to be concise through limitations. These applications also require the applicant to have a concrete understanding of themselves and the ability to convey that well through writing.

The basis for professional writing and communication stems from the 7Cs, but these characteristics of communication will be helpful outside of the job market as you utilize them in your personal narratives and responses for scholarships.

From College to Career

Bella Tylicki, Account Coordina
tor with Peritus Public Relations

By: Laura Jane Stallo

Graduation can be an equally exciting and daunting time for some students. After years in the education system, it can be a welcome relief to be done with classes, though finding a career can be challenging for some.

While many students have a strong idea of the career they want to ultimately have, it can be difficult to figure out where to start, or even how.

Bella Tylicki, a recent UAB graduate, offers some insight into how she landed her job as an Account Coordinator with Peritus Public Relations.

“I started interning there (Peritus) the summer after my junior year,” Tylicki said, going on to emphasize,

“Get as much hands-on experience as you can before you graduate.”

While many students’ experiences will look different, it’s important to start as early as possible, and those first experiences can be as simple as shadowing someone for a day, or joining a club or reaching out to a professor.

There is a growing misconception among students that the only ‘good experience’ is paid positions or internships. However, there are far more ways for you to learn and gain skills that are applicable for a variety of positions.

“You can spend an afternoon doing something that is worthy of adding to your resume,”

Tylicki emphasized, going on to say, “It doesn’t have to be a super-organized, 30-hour a week internship, it can be a project that you assist on." The idea of ‘good experience’ is not only entirely relative, but most of the time, categorically incorrect.

There are a variety of ways that students can gain different experiences and skills, and how relevant those skills and experiences are to positions or careers they are interested in, is entirely relative. This just means that there are more options out there than you might be aware of.

If you are interested in more structured experiences like internships or paid positions, your professors are a some of the best resources.

“Get internships if you can, if you can’t, get connected with professionals in the field through your professors, through LinkedIn, and just reach out,” Tylicki said.

While it may seem daunting to some, your professors and department heads are the best starting place. Your professors may not only have previously worked in the industry you are interested in, but they will know people who are currently working in that industry or other people they could direct you to.

“Your network really is everything, who you know really matters,” Tylicki added, emphasizing not to “be afraid to tell people what you’re interested in, don’t be afraid to put yourself out there.”

Intention really does matter, and if you express a desire for something and show that you are intentional about achieving that goal, the people you talk to will see that and do their part to help you achieve that goal.

Only the Essentials

By: Lainey Hardiman

From airbases to classrooms, everyone has been affected by the coronavirus. Our personal, work and school lives changed almost instantly. Students went online as schools across the world adapted virtual learning environments. Workers were divided into two groups: essential and non-essential.

We had to adjust to our new normal; our social lives changed as much as our professional lives. We found ourselves stuck inside our homes and isolated from everything we knew. No one knew how long we would be quarantined, but students still had deadlines to meet.

I had to learn how to balance my mental health along with all my college assignments. I’ve worked and completed almost two and a half semesters of college throughout the pandemic. I can say this has been the hardest and most rewarding experience I have lived through. I feel more prepared for my future than I did before.

I learned to be more diligent when studying and completing assignments. The stress of balancing my health, homework and mental health progress continues to occupy my thoughts. It is a constant battle. However, I learned that maintaining a good mentality and workspace enhanced my ability to do my job.

Adapting to social and emotional changes is just as important as adapting to changes in our work lives. As professional writing students we are among the millions that had to adjust to continue working. Covid caused professional writers to change the way we hold interviews and gather information.

In the fall of 2020, I had to do several interviews for a class project. Due to safety guidelines, it was almost impossible to hold in-person interviews during and after quarantine. I could only use phone calls because of scheduling conflicts, social distancing and geography.

This meant recording my phone calls and then taking notes. Scheduling phone call interviews between time zones is not the easiest, but I had to do it. I relied on my phone to continue working. Other students relied on another form of telecommunication.

Zoom interviews are the easiest ways we students and other essential workers have found to maintain our work. Students continue to hold interviews over Zoom Conferences or Zoom audio calls. We had to learn how to communicate and gather information effectively while social distancing. The changes we made are not even close to what essential workers went through.

First Lieutenant (1LT) Devon John of the United States Air Force worked throughout the quarantine. He dealt with personal and professional changes, but he never stopped working. He worried about exposing himself and his wife who was at home. He worried about the stress of testing positive for the virus. He had safety guidelines at work and at home. At work he wore a mask and wiped everything down. After work, his wife made him immediately change clothes and take a shower.

He had to make several changes in his everyday routine. He worked two days per week instead of his usual five days on and three days off schedule. He flew in the same sensor operator and cockpit rather than switching to minimize exposure. They flew less planes than usual, but he still worked.

“My squadron and I and the rest of the military didn’t have a choice. Every second of every single day a plane was in the air.” -1LT Devon John

Like many other essential works, the 1LT had no choice. He woke up every day to fly military combat planes. He and his squadron couldn’t just stop because of the virus. So, they took every precaution and safeguard they could think of. He and his wife learned how to navigate their changes and their relationship became stronger because of it.

An article written for the U.S. Air Force News re-emphasizes the 1LT’s experience. From it, we understand the Air Force’s dedication for safety and workability. We remember the military’s dedication to serve and protect its workers and the people of the United States. Even the Air Force advocates the balance of safety in our social and work lives.

“This may be a different adversary, but our military and nation will rise to the occasion to prevail and protect our way of life.” -LTC Lucas Choate

It reinforces the Air Force’s mission to stand by and protect our nation. They do not have a choice, but they will continue to support and defend the American way of life (Choate, 2020).

Problem-solving is a huge part of future careers, and the skills we have learned throughout the pandemic will only help us throughout our life. I realized the importance of communication after completing this interview and reading this article. Communication is not only significant for us as a society, but it is especially necessary for professional writers. Without it, we lose connection and our work becomes meaningless. If we can’t connect or communicate effectively, what’s the point?

So, like our essential workers we chose to keep communicating. Even though the world as we know it came to a stop, we still had to work. As we move forward into our new normal, we bring innovative strengths and abilities that we did not have before. Our experiences throughout the pandemic have challenged us, but we have come out stronger.

Growing Your Writing

By: Laura Jane Stallo

Many students only go to the Writing Center when they are required to as a part of their graded assignments, or when they are struggling with an essay. While the Writing Center does help students with both of those things, they do so much more.

The Writing Center currently offers two forms of tutoring for students, live and asynchronous. Michael Williams, a first-year undergraduate tutor at the UWC, explains the difference.

“Because of the pandemic, we haven’t been able to meet in the office,” Williams said. Much like the rest of the university, the Writing Center offers their services virtually through Zoom where students can schedule 30-minute or hour-long appointments with tutors.

During live appointments, the tutors will meet with students over Zoom and will walk through the essay with student. The tutors can help students with anything from “brainstorming” to showing students “what needs to be edited,” and "why," said Williams.

The process is slightly different with asynchronous tutoring. “It’s basically the same thing, except you don’t have that live feedback,” Williams said.

Students submit documents to the Writing Center, and the tutors “take that Word document or PDF, and we do our best to give feedback and give explanations along the way as if we were actually in a Zoom meeting.” Williams said.

Strengthening your own writing

When asked what some of the most common mistakes students make in their essays, Williams said they can be broken into two categories, “grammatical and structural.”

“Comma splices tend to be an issue a lot,” Williams said, adding that most of the grammatical mistakes tend be the easiest to point out. “In a Zoom meeting, you can read the essay back to them and they’re able to catch it themselves.”

"Even the best wordsmiths are bound to make simple grammatical mistakes," Williams said.

“It’s important to know the difference between commas, semicolons and periods, and when to use them.”

If you are ever confused if your sentence is a run-on or if you should have used a semicolon or a comma, you are not alone, and the Writing Center is there to help you answer those questions and more.

When it comes to structural mistakes, Williams highlights the importance of reading the assignment guideline carefully. “There are some who don’t follow the assignment guidelines,” Williams said, with many students feeling unsure of what the professor is asking of them.

“It’s always good to read the assignment guidelines on your own, and if you still need help following the assignment guidelines, we can help with that,” Williams said.

Style Guides

The Writing Center is also equipped to accept essays and articles from any discipline or style guide. “As tutors we take in all kinds of papers from all kinds of disciplines,” Williams said.

“A lot of my students have been from remedial English courses,” though Williams has also had students from “The School of Business to engineering to psychology and even graduate students.” With such a variety in backgrounds, tutors are constantly learning about different rules and style guides.

“Most of us already know MLA, and that’s the typical style we teach in, but we’re still able to help with whatever style,” Williams said. Most students are familiar with the rules of which style they are writing in, but if the tutors ever encounter an obscure style guide they are not familiar with, most style guides have digital copies available all over the internet.

“We trust students enough that they are able to find the resource for us and that they we are able to go through it together, kind of like following the assignment guidelines, and we take that as a learning experience,” Williams said.

The tutors also get offers to attend training seminars held throughout the semester to learn more about specific style guides. “It’s the expectation that as a tutor, when you do have breaks in your work schedule, it doesn’t hurt to go through the instruction manuals,” Williams said.

Workshops

While most students take advantage of the Writing Center’s tutoring services, the center also offers workshops throughout the semester for students.

“The workshops are free and open to the public. Usually we’ll have a couple of senior-level tutors who help to conduct workshops, to help the community out with basic issues that we see,” Williams said.

The workshops are similar to mass-tutoring sessions, Williams said. During the Fall 2020 semester, the Writing Center offered three sessions: “Presentation on How to Find and Correct Your Errors,” “Presentation on How to Reflect on Your Writing” and “How to Manage Writing Anxiety and Writer’s Block.”

One of the biggest roadblocks and misconceptions that students have about the Writing Center is that it is only a place to go if you feel like there are problems with your writing, Williams said.

“Workshops and tutoring sessions can be for people of all levels – all disciplines,” Williams said, and emphasized that, “We’re helping you to evoke the best writer that is already in you.”

Working for the UWC

The Writing Center is a resource available to strengthen your writing through either one-on-one tutoring sessions or workshops. It can also be a place to gain a variety of skills and connections by working there.

“I’ve learned a lot and it’s definitely been one of my favorite experiences this semester,” Williams said.

“One of the most important things working here has taught me is the importance of different writing styles…working with a lot of different students from first-gen students to students who aren’t native English speakers has been really interesting.”

“As a tutor is has been a really good experience to read and hear a lot of different voices and hear a lot of different experiences and to look more into my own narrative voice,” Williams said, and “learning how to edit other people’s papers has taught me how to edit my own papers better.”

“One of the biggest things about working at the Writing Center,” Williams said, “is that we’re very friendly, we never want to put (the student) in a position where we’re very hard on you.”

“Before I came to the Writing Center, I was always the person that people came to when they needed help with their papers, so I was already used to being in that environment but being a tutor at the Writing Center has given me a lot more confidence in doing that and has also given me a lot more skills and resources with working with different students and different writing styles,” Williams said.

Whether you just want feedback on an essay or want to be on the other side of the screen, the Writing Center is an excellent resource to develop your writing, no matter your year or skill level.

The Post-Corona Professional Writer

By: Hunter Freeman

Every industry has been affected by the coronavirus, and professional writing is no exception.

English majors finishing up their Professional Writing concentration this year or looking to get work experience through an internship will likely be at a loss where to start in these uncertain times. Change is scary, but with these few things in mind, it can all work out in the end.

The opportunities will be different

Internships and writing positions will still be available, but there likely won’t be as many, especially for industries like radio, newspapers and magazines. Visual Capitalist shows that ad spend for each of these mediums is down 16.2%, 19.5% and 21.5% respectively. In a pre-corona world, many English majors looked to these industries as a source of early-career experience, but with less money from advertisers, there will be less money to hire new staff, especially those lacking experience.

“Print is not dead, but it is on life support.”

However, it’s not all bad news. Professional writers growing up in the information age have some of the key skills companies are looking for. That same Visual Capitalist fact sheet reports that ad spend for social media is up 9.8%, despite the pandemic.

According to a Gallup poll, nearly half of employees in the US are still working from home full-time or part of the time.

Many facets of industry have been pushed online because of the virus and will likely stay online because people have adapted. What does that mean for undergrads? Leverage those tech skills to paint yourself as a good candidate. An intern with a good understanding of social media and the ability to interface with technology is currently more valuable than the intern who only writes pretty good copy. Be the candidate that can combine both. There will also be a significant shift in opportunities, following the significant shift is ad dollars.

Freelance is Huge

Freelance opportunities, or the gig economy, is booming. Upwork, a platform that connects freelancers to clients, released a report on trends in freelancing. Adam Ozimek, Upwork’s Chief Economist, writes:

“Normally, around 10% of freelancers have started freelancing sometime in the last six months. However, at the time of the survey in June-July 2020, 34% had started since the onset of COVID-19 in early March.” In short, more people are entering the freelance market.

Professional writers are no different. We are all familiar with platforms like Uber, Shipt and DoorDash that use “independent contractors” as part of their services. As more companies divvy out rolls to online employees, professional writers graduating this year will likely supplement their income with freelance work in the near future.

Platforms like Medium and WordPress offer writers a way to monetize their writing. Be familiar with these platforms, build a portfolio, and the transition will be easier. The ability to market oneself will have new importance in a growing gig economy.

Boring Is Sexy

The starving artist should not be glamorized. The hard truth of professional writing is that it often isn’t very fun. As NYU Stern Professor Scott Galloway puts it, “Boring is Sexy.” His book The Algebra of Happiness offers plenty of good advice for up-and-comers, but he advises undergrads to be realistic. He writes, “If you want to work at Vogue, produce movies, or open a restaurant, you need to ensure that you receive a great deal of psychic income, as the returns on your efforts (distinct of well-publicized exceptions) will be, on a risk-adjusted basis, awful.”

For many professional writers, this should translate as lowering your expectations of writing as a day job. I work in administration reviewing and editing manuscripts and grant applications. Do I love it? No, it is rather boring. But, boring lets me write creatively in my free time.

Boring allows me to take freelance opportunities I want to take rather than need to take. Boring pays the bills.

This lesson is especially important for post-corona professional writers. The jobs of our dreams are either dying or occupied. If you are talented and lucky, your time will come, but you have to pay rent first. Take comfort in the boring job, and it will let you keep writing.

There is no going back, probably

You will keep seeing the expression the New Normal. This is ours. Professional writing in a post-corona society is enabled by technology, cooperation over distance, and for most of you, probably boring. Being able to display your technological skills and specialize in a particular sector will make you more marketable. Write the op-ed in your free time while you totally dominate being an insurance underwriter, a grant coordinator, or a social media strategist.

If you have made it this far, whether it is from the comfort of your house or sitting behind a desk in a dimly lit office, that means writing is your calling. And I wish you the best of luck.