Context

During my junior year I had the opportunity to study abroad in London where completed an international internship at a nonprofit organization called Paddington Arts. I worked for Paddington Arts' online magazine, Youth Arts Online and wrote articles that connected the audience of the magazine (12-22-year-old London residents) to art, music, literature, and creative expression events and opportunities occurring throughout the city.

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I completed upwards of 15-20 articles for Youth Arts Online, but will only showcase a sample of three. The sample includes an Adele concert review, and promotional articles for the London Book Fair as well as the 2016 Menuhin Competition. At the time of my internship, each article was fully formatted on the online magazine with photos, but, unfortunately, the site is no longer active. To read the articles in document form, click here.

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Rhetorical Decisions

The journalistic nature of my internship provided the perfect opportunity to practice my journalism skills. The conception of articles involved thinking through multiple rhetorical invention strategies. Much of my brainstorming came from researching upcoming events that would be interesting to my audience. In this scenario, understanding my audience was simple due to the fact that I, as a young adult living in London and interested in art, embodied the primary audience. I chose my article topics based on what local events and opportunities best aligned with the overall purpose of Youth Arts Online. The greater rhetorical purpose of the online magazine was to persuade and inspire children and young adults to become more involved in creative and artistic events in London. Additionally, Youth Arts Online frequently posted upcoming employment opportunities which encouraged young adults to consider a profession in the arts. My invention strategies expanded once I had my topic of interest. Specifically, I asked myself the classic journalism questions: Who? What? Where? When? Why? How? These questions helped lead me towards writing content that was focused in its style and fully achieving its rhetorical purpose. 

 

Within each article came a balance between the professional journalistic information and the natural creative tendency of my own writing style. More specifically, I noticed that certain facets of journalism exist at the intersection of Cicero's plain and middle style. In some respects the articles need to "instruct" or inform the audience, while in other respects the articles need to move the audience. This balance was especially important in my Adele concert review. Because the concert was one of the only article topics that I experienced firsthand, I found myself writing in a more informal style than what was appropriate. In the articles about the London Book Fair and the 2016 Menuhin Competition, there was an added informational component to consider. These types of articles required content that was equal parts professional from a journalistic stand point, creative, and accurately and interestingly informational. This was especially true with the Menuhin Competition article because the Menuhin Competition is not a common occurrence in London, nor is it public knowledge to most young adults. The balance of information came from ensuring that there was enough background information/information about the competition coupled with the specifics of this year's event and a few key CTAs (call to action). I wanted to avoid an overabundance of background info out of fear of potentially boring the reader, but still wanted the audience to come away from the article as informed and interested.

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Reflection

These articles allowed me to fully combine aspects of both creative and professional writing. Though the articles sometimes contained language that would usually be considered more informal or creative, there were also key elements of rhetorical journalism. It was refreshing to have personal experience to fall back on and to write from a place that wasn't purely informational. I learned that blending my skill sets together is a great way to achieve my rhetorical purpose. I also learned that one of the most important aspects of writing is making sure that the articles are not only tailored to the audience, but also written in a way that makes the experience feel as real and relatable as possible.