Around four years ago, just after I’d graduated, I began an editorial internship for a London based company. I was over the moon, I’d achieved straight firsts for the final two and a half years of my degree and won three awards, so writing a few business blogs would be a piece of cake! Erm, no. I was getting way ahead of myself. I no longer had the luxury of writing and editing in the same way, spending hours tweaking and surfing the thesaurus (a hobby of mine), to ensure that each word fitted and flowed to perfection. I had to be nimble, research time was limited and I suddenly had this restrictive brief with no room for deviation. Don’t get me wrong, quality academic writing is a difficult process, but going from writing creatively and persuasively with a 5,000 word limit, cut to 500 words with your success measured by actual cold hard data was a daunting experience!
I’m pleased to say I got through it, from research to finished article in a matter of hours. I still have to remind myself occasionally when writing for business that my target audience won’t be impressed by the use of archaic academic language.
There is a line between academic writing and business writing, and it’s far more distinct that I realised!
Amend of the Day 