5 Ways to Ramp Up Your Writing Portfolio
As a Michigan student without a journalism major to rely on
By Taylor Grier, Jill Murdock, and Julia Szydlowski
The panic is setting in. You’re scouring over your writing samples, hoping they’ll be good enough to fit into the writing portfolio this job demands. But the work needs to be within the last two years, peer edited, and exhibit of your true range of skills. Any student looking for a career in writing can understand the struggle of deciding which work to put into their portfolio. However, it can be particularly frustrating for students as the University of Michigan does not have a dedicated journalism major. Fortunately, these five resources and opportunities on Michigan’s campus and in the greater Ann Arbor area can help students get the experience they need as they pursue their journalistic endeavors.
1. Sweetland Minor in Writing
The Sweetland Minor in Writing is a unique offering at the University that focuses on building students’ writing skills while teaching them how to market their works to future employers, publishers, and the public. Through a myriad of elective courses, students are exposed to a variety of genres and mediums such as professional writing, argumentative writing, and even magazine writing. The coursework from these classes along with the online portfolio produced in the required Gateway and Capstone courses can easily be compiled into an impressive portfolio. The guidance of the Sweetland faculty members, who teach the minor courses, is also unmatched. They are knowledgeable, friendly, and always willing to offer a helping hand. This wonderful program accepts applications twice a year for the fall and winter semester respectively. The link to reach the application, and other information on the program, is on their website.
2. HerCampus, Michigan Chapter: for the well-versed college student
Inspired by their student-run publication for Harvard women, graduates Stephanie Kaplan Lewis, Annie Wang, and Windsor Hanger Western founded Her Campus Media in 2009. Her Campus is the #1 new-media brand for the empowered college woman. With chapters all over the country, including HC at U Mich, this completely women-run and women-owned site features stories from each of its chapters and the main trending page. Articles range from news, health, style, beauty, sex & relationships, resources, and more! Within each category are unique, intimate, and relatable pieces. Aside from their advice column, viewers can get advice on topics like skin care, new trends, life planning, and what’s hot in the world of entertainment—all from the female perspective. But this is more than just a website; geared for the everywoman, Her Campus has many opportunities to get involved. Collegiettes are encouraged to sign up for newsletters, apply to be a writer, intern, campus trendsetter, and more!
3. Write On Ann Arbor: an off-campus writing group and workshop
Ever considered writing with the support, guidance, direction, and inspiration of a group? Write On, Ann Arbor! provides exactly that. This group of over 600 members is a startup using the platform Meetup that has allowed organizer Jeannie Ballew to bring her passions and struggles with writing together. This group is an opportunity to harness drive, energy, and support in a manner that yields positive growth and innovative pieces. Write On, Ann Arbor Is truly a community that fosters intellectual curiosity. Within this group and its events that occur on a near-monthly basis, writers are able to receive critiques, new perspectives, and develop relationships with other writers. To get involved simply go on Meetup and search for Write On, Ann Arbor! to join this group. It’s an easy and unique way to gain writing experience, grow as a writer, and have fun!
4. The Michigan Daily: for a top-tier newspaper experience
The Michigan Daily is the university’s student-run newspaper, established in 1890. The Daily covers everything you’d expect of a quality newspaper, from opinion to the arts & culture to sports and, of course, the latest happenings around campus and Ann Arbor at large. Unique to the Daily is Michigan in Color, a section dedicated to giving communities of color a platform to share narratives, creative work, and perspective pieces. Several Daily alum have continued to forge successful careers in journalism at esteemed publications, such as TIME Magazine, the New York Times, and the Washington Post, among others, making it the perfect place for aspiring writers to get a head start. Employment opportunities for a variety of positions at the Daily are posted here, with applications accepted on a rolling basis.
5. SHEI Magazine: for the fashion-forward & editorially inclined
SHEI Magazine is a campus-style magazine independently run and managed by U-M students. Since its inception in 1999 as an Asian culture publication, SHEI Magazine has expanded to include coverage on fashion, popular culture, art, and how-to guides. SHEI Magazine combines cutting-edge street style photography and editorial design to create a stunning visual experience. The magazine is a bi-annual publication, with digital issues published on a monthly basis. Closed applications for writing and editorial positions are accepted at the beginning of each semester. For more information, check out their website.
Though these are only a couple options for portfolio building on this list, the University offers a variety of other events and opportunities on and off campus. We recommend attending Festifall and mass meetings to get an understanding of the time requirements and atmosphere for all of these organizations. We wish the leaders and the best all the luck in their future endeavors and applications. Just get out there and get writing!
Feature photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash