How to Transition Your Writing for the Professional World

Moving from your academic career to your professional one can be challenging. You have to learn to modify the skillset developed in school to fit the workplace. One of the trickiest skills to convert is writing – if you’ve come from a social science field like foreign policy or international relations, this may be difficult.

When you transition from university to work, the nature of your writing shifts. The style, formatting, and kind of writing evolve – almost every aspect is different. In the professional world, one of the biggest differences is also your audience. You no longer write for yourself and your professor. You write for colleagues, bosses, and even the public.

Each of the tips below delves into finer points, but they are all premised on this basic component – a shift in audience. If you ever doubt yourself when writing in the professional world, start with these questions: who are you writing for; and what purpose will it serve? Tackling these is a great way to get started, but there are also a few other details to consider.

Showcasing Knowledge vs. Solving a Problem

When you write an academic essay or thesis, one of the main objectives is demonstrating your knowledge. Professors evaluate you by written assignments, checking if you learned what you were supposed to from their course. Typically, you must make an argument and defend your point with supporting facts.

In the professional world, writing is rarely about demonstrating your knowledge. You write to solve a problem or answer a question. The objective of any kind of business writing could be to inform, persuade, or even entertain. Informative public affairs writing like newsletters, press releases, or reports, might seem similar to academic writing in this sense. But showing what you know is not the same as informing. Informing is focused on what your audience needs, not you.

Writing for Yourself vs. Writing for an Audience

When you shift from academic to professional writing, your audience shifts too. You think about your writing from a different perspective, imagining how your audience will receive it or if it’s helpful for them.

When you switch from writing argumentative essays to web articles or social media posts, for example, thinking about how your audience behaves is crucial. A professor will devote a block of time to thoroughly read and critically evaluate the essay you wrote. Web and social media content are often quickly glanced over, so simple language that catches and holds attention is essential. Newsletters or research reports might be read more in-depth. Keeping your audience context in mind is essential because it will influence shifts in style and tone.

Formal Writing vs. Informal Writing

When it comes to tone, academic writing is always formal. You avoid slang terms, limit metaphors and contractions, write with the third-person perspective, and use a serious tone.

While in some cases formal writing is required in the professional world, it’s not the standard like in academia. If you write a research report, for example, you’ll stick to a formal tone. But when it comes to speeches, newsletters, or even blog posts, a formal tone might seem too stuffy and distant from your audience. Switching from a third-person perspective to a second-person perspective is one of the most important differences. In public affairs writing, you’re often trying to connect to your audience. Saying “you” instead of “it” or “they” is an essential part of establishing that connection.

Specialised Knowledge vs. General Information

In academic writing, you produce work specific to the discipline you’re studying in. It’s easy to get caught up in the concepts and nuances of your field without seeing the broader picture. While most professors will advise you not to assume your reader knows these specific terms and perspectives and ask you to elaborate, you can still be very much focused on your topic niche.

In public affairs writing, you often reach people in a vast array of fields. This audience includes the general public, who might be unfamiliar with foreign policy and international relations theories like the democratic peace theory or the responsibility to protect doctrine. Knowing your audience and their familiarity with your topic is essential, no matter what you’re writing.

Final Thoughts

All these tips on switching from academic to professional writing emanate from one big difference – the audience. Your readers and their context will have a huge impact on what and how you write. Before beginning any piece of writing, even if it’s a quick memo or email to a co-worker, consider your audience. Who is this for? Why should they read it? Is it helpful? Shifting your perspective this way will make your writing transition to the professional world a little easier.

Author: Courtney Withrow

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Courtney Withrow is a freelance writer based in Brussels. She writes about foreign policy, politics, travel, and culture. She recently received her MA in International Relations from the Brussels School of International Studies at the University of Kent.

Published 22 January 2020