Last semester, I took Expository Writing, which worked miracles for my academic writing skills. I became adept at drawing out my ideas, interlacing my key terms, framing my quotes, researching, writing thesis pages, and providing metacommentary.
Now I'm taking Writing for the Mass Media, and the skills I acquired in Expo. are actually hurting me. My long drawn out paragraphs? Cut to the point. One-sentence paragraphs are ideal. My framed quotes? Quotes can be their own paragraph. My metacommentary? Leave out my opinion. Facts only.
These are only some of the differences between academic and journalistic writing. Making the switch is difficult because I'm a creature of habit. Just when I'm competent at one style, I must learn another. These are the joys of professional writing.
No comments:
Post a Comment