Victoria Faraon
Introduction
This fall semester, I had the pleasure of interning for Studies in the Literary Imagination, a biannual scholarly journal focused on special topics in literature, as an assistant editor/proofreader for their 2024 Fall issue. My main role was to look for common errors, correct MLA formatting, and ensure the accuracy of citations. Through this internship, I was able to develop a strong awareness for detail, enhance my research skills, and refine my expertise in the MLA style. I hope to convey my workplace environment, the expectations of an editor/proofreader for Studies in the Literary Imagination, what my work looked like over the semester, and all that I have gained from this opportunity!
Workplace
Although Studies in the Literary Imagination, from here on known as SLI, is local to Georgia State, I completed my internship remotely (for the most part). Not including any in-person meetings, all of my work could be attributed to being done at my desk in my dormitory. I completed my tasks through Microsoft Word, Outlook, and our collaborative site, Trello. Every week to a week-and-a-half, I received an essay from our Managing Editor, Olivia Ivings, from off our Trello page. From there, I would download the essay and edit and comment in Microsoft Word. Once I finished the article, I would send it back to Olivia via email on Outlook, and the cycle would repeat for all five of my completed essays.
Expectations
My supervisors, Olivia Ivings and Paul Schmidt, had several expectations for me. They instructed me to read around half of the essays (assigned four) for the upcoming issue of SLI, where I would look for common errors in the prose, correct and adjust for MLA formatting and grammar, and, if possible, assure the accuracy of the citations and notes. I reported to Olivia Ivings directly while communicating with Paul Schmidt as needed. Olivia Ivings organized and prepared our collaborative Trello which listed when I would receive each article and when I should return them to her.
I met with Olivia in person a few times and Paul Schmidt once over the semester. When meeting with Olivia, she reassured me multiple times that should I need an extension or if I had any questions that I ask her. I asked for one extension for a weekend on my third essay, and I left questions and comments for her specifically in the edited word copies. Olivia offered to print articles out for me had I found it easier to manually edit, though I stuck with Word in the end. My meeting with Dr. Schmidt was a result of his appreciation for my “unusual skills.” We touched base on my edits and whether or not I was on the right track. He told me to keep doing what I was doing!
The Work
One word that could describe my work would be meticulous. My role in this position was to look at the article under a magnifying glass; I looked for errors in grammar within the prose and ensured correct MLA citation formatting.
In the beginning, I thought I had a decent, foundational understanding of MLA 9 editing and citations. As an English major, I’ve been exposed to various essays and articles in MLA, and I have written my fair share of papers in the style. However, I quickly realized how much I didn’t know within the first two weeks of my internship.
Our first few articles were heavily delayed at the beginning of my internship. Olivia revealed that we were supposed to receive them in May, only to have my first one in my hands at the end of September. Therefore, before my first essay, I began to acquaint myself with the MLA handbook Olivia lent me during the first week of classes. This, in combination with the resources she posted on our Trello page, would be my first real exposure to MLA in the literal sense. While I have taken the Editing and Publishing course here at Georgia State University, my expertise would be in Chicago and not MLA, which was vastly different in the nitty gritty rules and details for grammar and formatting. As much preparation as I could do reading and taking notes, nothing would compare to putting these skills into practice when I received my first article.
First, I would dive straight into the citations. They took the longest in terms of what needed to be edited since there were many nuances to the MLA format. For example, the citation for a thesis or dissertation will be written differently than that of a traditional, published source. Sometimes I ran into problems like when authors undergo name changes or publish under two names and what needs to be done then. I spent most of my time cross-checking with the MLA 9 handbook and the Purdue OWL site to ensure I completed the citations to the best of my abilities. I tried finding the exact sources online while referencing what the author wrote down; sometimes, the authors would use sources I did not have access to, such as sources from physical archives or the actual hardcopy of the journal or article. Olivia always told me that we just do our best, so whenever I didn’t have that exact copy, I would leave queries if I seriously questioned the citation, and edited as I could to the best of my knowledge.
After fixing citations, I would read through the article and find common grammatical mistakes. Most of the time, I focused on subject–verb agreement and if what the author is saying is clear and succinct. My queries/questions asked what the author means to communicate. The sentence’s main argument can be lost within the abundance of various dependent clauses, lists, and examples within the sentence. Therefore, I try to pinpoint what is being said on a grammatical level (which clause/phrase is attributed to what) and how that impacts the overarching meaning of the sentence. I offer suggestions on what I think the author means to communicate and how they can adjust their sentence to fit that parallel.
Conclusion
From my experience, I have learned the nuances of being an editor and proofreader for an academic journal. While my knowledge surrounding the topic of this issue may have been slim, I was able to contribute to the journal with my refined knowledge in grammar and MLA formatting. My attention to detail goes beyond my classwork as an English major and instead has infiltrated this internship suitably. Especially as a rhetoric and composition concentration and a minor in editing and publishing, my experience in my degree program contributed greatly to how I was able to manage thirty-page essays; my time management and adaptability skills are amplified because of my expertise in my craft. This internship allowed me to experience what it is like to work with a publication team, as well as working with deadlines that didn’t just impact me or my grade, but instead the function of the entire press. Truly, working with SLI has given me the confirmation that I do want to continue in the editing and publishing field post-graduation. I am thankful for this opportunity, and I look forward to wherever my educational and professional journey takes me next!
Resources
Search Engines/Databases
EBSCO: Georgia State University’s library page has this linked under Advanced Discover Search. EBSCO allows you to find articles, books, journals, and more using keywords, titles, authors, etc.
ProQuest: Although ProQuest gives you access to many journals and books, I used the site to find dissertations and theses. I found most if not all, the cited dissertations and theses used in my edited articles from ProQuest’s database!
JSTOR: This is also a digital library that gives students access to many journals, articles, books, research etc. What I could not find using EBSCO tended to turn up in JSTOR instead!
Google Scholar: This is a, for the most part, free search engine from Google that contains many research works (like the other databases). I didn’t use this engine often seeing as sometimes the links will take you to a site that has a paywall, which meant that it just wasn’t accessible through Georgia State, unfortunately.
MLA Resources
MLA 9 Handbook: Olivia Ivings lent me the MLA handbook ninth edition to use during my internship. This book has the exact rules I followed for every edit I made in my work. It is separated by formatting, prose mechanics, source documentation, works cited, citing sources in-text, notes, and appendix.
Purdue OWL (Online Writing Lab): If I left my MLA 9 handbook at home, I would turn to Purdue University’s guide on MLA online instead! The site essentially communicates all the nuances that the MLA 9 handbook states. Sometimes, it’s easier to use this site because it has a direct search engine to find exactly what it is you are looking for. Overall, the resource was my backup for when I couldn’t find the exact issue I was running into using the book.
Trello (Purdue OWL Presentation): This resource was helpful during the beginning stages of my internship. It encompasses the most common errors and edits you will encounter whilst reading and succinctly groups them in a nifty PowerPoint!
