Unlocking Your Writing Superpowers: The Benefits of Joining the Professional and Technical Writing Club By Sandy Fougeres
Hey, City Tech students! Ever found yourself staring at a blank screen, struggling to find the words that would align with your writing or creative projects? Well, buckle up because we’re about to embark on a thrilling communication journey offered by the Professional and Technical Writing Club (PTW club). As a fellow student, I understand the dynamic landscape of academia and often engage in conversations with my peers about our futures.
One main point that reveals itself in these conversations is that students are constantly seeking opportunities to enhance their skills and broaden their horizons—including myself. By joining the PTW club, the choice can prove to be a transformative experience that helps improve your writing, communication, networking, and tech skills; as the foundations of professional and technical writing involve team building and effective communication through the use of media/technology. Before we start this journey, let’s get a better understanding of the PTW club.
What is Professional and Technical Writing (PTW)?
Professional and technical writing is a form of communication that focuses on conveying complex information in a simplified, clear, and concise manner. Professional and technical writers produce media content and documents. According to Madelyn Carroll (n.d.), of Rowan University Department of Writing Arts, she states, “Technical writing is understood as writing for those who work in “technical” (mechanical or scientific) areas. This genre requires writers to objectively deliver facts and data in ways that are useful to readers, such as instruction manuals or grant applications, but also clothing labels or coupons, that is, writing that we use to get things done…Because professional writing is not as localized and specific as technical writing, anyone can become a professional writer: someone who writes within any professional setting” (para. 6).
As a professional and technical writing major, I was unsure of what the program would offer. I just knew I wanted to write. I was surprised to find that professional and technical writing included so many elements in writing and that a lot of what the program included involved writing with new media, which is relevant to the realities of how we communicate today.
The Need For a Professional and Technical Writing Club
At City Tech there are more than 60 student clubs offering support for students in various majors and for those who have different interests. Although there are many club options for City Tech students, there is no option for City Tech PTW students. As a professional and technical writing major, I want and understand the need for a professional and technical writing community outside of lectures and the classroom. This club can provide students, like me, a platform and space for mutual support within this program, allowing us to share experiences and navigate our academic journeys together.
Why Are Student Clubs Important?
Clubs are important because they offer a myriad of benefits beyond the academic realm. By joining a club, students can benefit through club participation where they can cultivate a sense of community and belonging. They can engage with like-minded peers who share similar interests or goals, which can forge lasting connections and friendships. Moreover, clubs offer students the opportunity to develop crucial skills that extend beyond their work in the classroom, and can be a great addition to your resume when looking for jobs outside of school.
According to Grand Canyon University, “Employers may value job applicants who participated in extracurricular activities like school clubs because this participation demonstrates that the individuals were actively involved in their school community. Most employers also know that participation in extracurricular activities helps build important soft skills, such as teamwork, collaboration and communication” (2023). Clubs are beneficial to students for many reasons, these extracurricular activities contribute to a well-rounded education that prepares students for the challenges they’ll face in their future careers and in life beyond college.
The Benefits of Joining PTW Club
Now that we’ve become a bit more informed on what the field of professional and technical writing is and the importance of clubs, let’s get into what you can gain by joining the PTW club, you can:
Enhance Your Communication Skills
Become Versatile in Your Writing
Collaborate and Network
Take on Leadership Opportunities
Boost Your Resume
Form Friendships and Gain Support and More.
How To Join The PTW Club?
With all the information we’ve just learned, are you ready to join? Yay! Okay, you can join by simply adding your name, email, and Empl ID to the club sign-up sheet here. And that’s it!
PTW is Everywhere, You Just Didn’t Know it! By Tiana Beatty
Walking around City Tech, have you ever noticed the different flyers, signs, and postages that are all around spreading information and facts about clubs and events the college is throwing?
Have you ever wondered where something like this comes from or rather who makes it?
I mean obviously it’s the students at this college of course, but all that work that goes into comes from the skills, ideas, concepts, and techniques acquired from the PTW or professional and technical writing students in the PTW major. Ok, not all of them but it’s the skills that are applied that give away the pieces of the major that are slightly overlooked.
The PTW or Professional and Technical Writing major is about more than just creating instruction manuals, style guides, and business memos and letters. It’s about using the key skills and techniques acquired from the courses that we’re taking and applying that to be more than just a technical writer.
Yes, you can be more than a technical writer!
What is Technical Writing?
Technical writing is a form of communicated writing that professional writers do to communicate and deliver information about topics using plain language or simple explanations.
Using information, facts, and instructions provided, professional writers translate jargons or complicated language to create content for the audience.
A professional writer or communicator’s main job is to translate and create content for the audience, so that it’s easily understood. We’re basically the Google Translate of complex languages
Why This Major?
Professional and Technical Writing is commonly unheard of or is looked down upon as something that is considered “boring.” There have been many times when students at City Tech are asked what we’re studying in school. The long answer is professional and technical writing. The short answer, English. It sucks to not be able to take pride in this field because it’s interesting to dive into.
There is so much you can do as a professional and technical writer. The main goal as a professional and technical writer is to provide a pleasant and easy audience experience.
Have you ever read something that you didn’t understand and decided not to read it over again, especially if the reading could be so simple?
But because they use all these complicated words that no one knows what they mean, or the information doesn’t make sense and isn’t relatable?
That what’s professional and technical communicators/writers do.
Professional and technical writers take jargons or complicated words and subjects and decode them for the users who will be reading, watching, listening, and/or using (if it’s a physical object). We’re like our own version of Google Translate, which is cool!
But if that’s not up your alley, there are others professional and technical writing fields that you can become a part of. All it takes is a quick search and there are many different things that will pop up. Surely one of those will catch your eye.
Writing Makes Anything Possible!
The courses that students will be taking during their time at City Tech and in the PTW major, will not only enhance, explore, and expand on a student’s writing skills; they give a student more writing styles.
It’s important as a PTW major to understand and know when, where, and how to write a certain way especially if they decide to pursue careers in the corporate world.
Being able to write in professional and creative ways gives us an advantage into being able to do whatever we want as writers.
College & Beyond
Because we, as students will have been practicing and training ourselves in the professional and technical writing field, it makes sense for us as graduates to become involved in the PTW field. With guidance and preparation, students at City Tech can become technical writers or other types of writers in other fields.
Yes, you can get a job in other fields. You don’t have to be stuck in a corporate office or anything.
Technical writers are in demand, it just takes a search to find the right field for the right person.
Here are some of the technical writer jobs that we, at City Tech PTW students could get once we graduate.
Medical and Scientific Writer
User Manual Writer
Technical Review and Reporter Writer
Technical Editor
Copyeditor and Copywriter
Proposal Writer
Policy Writer
UX Writer
Entertainment Writer
Writer
Becoming a technical writer or a writer in any field isn’t impossible. It just takes a lot of hard work and dedication. We already have the skills and have the practice to become a writer. Becoming a writer and applying the skills we’ve learned, can make anything in the technical writing field possible.
