Isabella Lang

Name:

Isabelle Lang

MSU Degree(s):

BA in English, 2015

MA in English (Creative Writing Concentration), 2017

Any other degrees:

MFA in Creative Writing (Poetry), 2020, University of Nevada, Reno

Favorite memories of being an undergraduate English major:

Fundraising events with Sigma Tau Delta (Bake sales, Fortune Telling, Poetry Competitions, most of which involved silly costumes!).

Current Position:

Writing Assistant/Editor

Organization:

School of Social Work, Louisiana State University

When you graduated with a degree in English from MSU, what were your plans for your future?  Has your career path mostly realized those early plans, or have you discovered new plans and goals along the way?

My original plan prior to finishing my BA was to work in book publishing, moving to New York and living with one of my sisters for a time while I worked as a copyeditor or editorial assistant and worked my way up. As I neared graduation, started to look for work and internships, and learned more about that industry, I learned that corporate work was not what I really wanted, and that I really enjoyed the environment of a university and an academic life more than anything else! So, about two months shy of graduation, I spoke to Dr. Claggett about the Master’s program in English at MSU and changed my whole career path.

After making that switch, I planned to work through my degrees and become a professor of creative writing and literature, but again found out that wasn’t for me! I enjoyed working with students, but found I was more effective and felt more rewarded by a one-on-one experience rather than in a classroom or program of many. So, my new goal became to work in a writing center style of setting, helping students individually on their writing and communication journey. A new goal of mine is to become a writing center director of some sort!

What is your current occupation, and what does your work mostly consist of?

I currently work as the Writing Assistant/Editor for the School of Social Work at LSU. For students, I fulfill the “Writing Assistant” role, acting as a one-person writing center for undergrad and graduate students in the various departmental programs. I work with students on individual or group projects, at any point in their writing process from brainstorming, to drafting, to major revisions, to final edits and formatting. I also offer writing skills presentations throughout the semester on various topics and speak to classes when requested by professors to do so on writing topics specific to their coursework. Since much of the student body of the department is enrolled in our online degree program, I will review drafts and give written feedback first, then meet with students via Zoom to address their specific questions and concerns in a conversation where we look over their project together. They’ll also receive the written feedback after we meet. I act in the “Editor” role for faculty, editing their professional papers for publication submissions, or assisting in revise/resubmit projects.

Which skills that you learned as an English major do you use most in your job?

By FAR, what I end up discussing with students the most is the need to consider audience and context in their writing. Thinking of any kind of communication you’ll do (papers for class, resumes/cover letters for jobs, work presentations or memos, professional emails even!) as a persuasive piece of writing and considering what your potential audience might think of your words is incredibly helpful in communicating clearly and effectively.

What additional skills did you need to learn in order to do your job, and how did you learn them?

Most of all I needed to learn better how to prioritize tasks. I don’t think this is necessarily something that English majors don’t learn in undergrad! But I think it was very easy for me personally in school and in an English major specifically to need to read everything, understand all that was going on, and check all the boxes in order to succeed, and I placed everything on an equal level of importance. Doing this outside of school, where there are more and varied priorities I’m responsible for, can (and did!) lead to some pretty quick burnout.

I also had to learn a bit about working with different kinds of software that I wasn’t familiar with (Moodle, DaySmart Appointments, Calendly, Office 365, etc.) in order to make sure that I wasn’t doing every single tiny task of my work every single moment of every single day. It was a learning curve, but it was important to not be afraid of trying and failing with the different applications and platforms in order to streamline my daily tasks. It’s been helpful to learn how to prioritize what I actually need to do and what can be delegated or automated. These are more of learning-on-the-job skills, but it’s good to start getting into that frame of mind where and when you can!

Are there common misconceptions about your career field, which current English majors might share, that you have learned the truth about?

I feel like there’s a common misconception (certainly not by English majors, though) that writing centers edit student papers, which definitely isn’t true. It’s a collaborative effort on both my part and the part of the students to identify areas in need of improvement and learn together about what words best communicate the ideas they want to share. It’s a legitimate position where one educates students on how to become their own editors, and no one should expect you to write or “fix” student work for them. If someone does, they do not have the students’ or your best interest in mind!

I think there’s also a common conception that editors are harsh, red-pen-wielding, cutting machines, which also isn’t true! I, for one, make all my edits in a delightful bright blue. But beyond that, editing doesn’t have to be a mean job where you change everything someone has written to your own words or style. It’s a matter, again, of finding the best way to convey the ideas to the proper audience. It should be a shared responsibility of the editor and the author and does require some skill of patience in working with others.  

In what ways does your career enrich your life and help you to achieve your personal as well as your professional goals? 

Writing is important. Writing is everywhere. We all write, all the time, every day, even if we don’t pick up a pen or approach a keyboard. And if someone doesn’t feel confident in doing that task, it can be detrimental to their life in a lot of ways. Personally, I feel incredibly rewarded in helping others unspool the important ideas in their mind and weave it into a readable work of words to share with others.

Professionally, it’s very cool to be in a position that didn’t exist before I got here. This role is the first of its kind at LSU, and I’m so excited to be on the ground floor and grow it into something really impactful across the whole department, perhaps even inspiring other departments to do something similar. Writing is everywhere, remember?

What advice do you have for undergraduate English majors right now who might want to follow the career path you did?

Experience in any form is really what can sell your resume and cover letter for this kind of work. The degrees are certainly also important, but it can also go a long way to highlight any kind of editing, tutoring, or teaching work you’ve done, even at a volunteer or personal level. Hosted a peer review night with friends? That’s experience. Took the writing center class (whether or not you worked at the writing center)? That’s experience. Volunteered to help out a teacher friend at the local elementary school in their writing lesson? Helped out with a writing contest? Swapped regular feedback on short stories with a friend? Experience, experience, experience. Definitely don’t lie on your resume. But don’t be afraid to pack it with all the experiences you have either!

[Updated June 2024]