This is the final post for my internship with the Florida Conference of Historians. I am sad that this internship is coming to end because it has been so much fun, but I already know how much it will benefit me in the future. During my presentation Friday, I went into depth about how amazing this internship has been with Trish and Dr. Farless.
Unfortunately, we did not meet with Dr. Farless this week because of some scheduling conflicts and Dr. Farless wanted to make sure this week was more relaxed because of finals. However, Trish and I did meet twice independently. The first time, we reviewed out edits from our paper over thanksgiving break, while the second time we met to review our presentation for the internship showcase.
The first time, we reviewed the papers we completed over the Thanksgiving break. We generally agreed on the errors we found, although Trish had noticed some tense issues and passive voice issues I had not caught. This was useful because, given the larger amount of work than normal to review, I had a feeling I would miss more errors.
We also started a Do's and Don'ts last for future editors and applicants of the journal. On this list, we included common errors we found in papers as well as suggestions and resources. I was fortunate enough to get a great video resource on "the Offical Style" in my technical writing class this week that I know will benefit future interns and authors. The Official Style is the technical term for writing that becomes too garbled with passive voice, prepositions, and fancy language to mean anything important. Because we all want to sound smart in papers, It's a common trap in academic writing. The video has helpful examples of how to avoid The Official Style, while also providing a step-by-step guide on how to remove it when you spot it. We will also include specific recommendations on how to avoid passive voice and citation errors in a paper.
The second time Trish and I met on zoom, we reviewed our presentation for the Undergraduate History Presentation. This was really fun because, in preparing our script, we both revealed how much this internship has meant to us. I truly have learned so much and feel significantly confident in my writing than I did before. I was a little nervous to present on zoom for the first time, but after practicing with Trish for about an hour, I knew we were going to do great.
During the presentation, I was excited to see Dr. Farless could make it! It was reassuring to see her, and I was glad she got to hear all we had learned during this internship.
Trish and I have agreed to each edit one more paper to help Dr. Farless finish up the last of the 2020 papers, so I am not completely done with this internship yet. However, I am so glad I had the opportunity to work in an editorial internship like this for my fall 2021 semester.