Be it browsing through module reviews or perusing our peers’ papers, many of us have read works published by our fellow students. Have you ever wondered what happens behind the polished sentences and glossy magazine covers? To demystify the campus publication editorial process, The Ridge spoke to student writers and editors to share their experiences of working for their publications.
CNM Types
CNM Types is a student-run blog and a subcommittee of the Communications and New Media (CNM) society. It covers topics of interest to the CNM community, from academic advice like module reviews to lifestyle articles.
CNM Types gives its writers the flexibility and creative autonomy to share stories that are close to their hearts. Aside from editorial flexibility, the writers of CNM types also have relatively flexible schedules. After all, as students, their academics are still the priority. To avoid overworking its members, CNM Types publishes twice a week until a few weeks before finals, with writers contributing two articles per semester. But they are afforded the freedom to pitch more articles if they have a story they are passionate about.
“As a writer myself, I personally understand how much of a struggle it is to write about something I’m not even truly interested in. So, we try to avoid that as much as possible in CNM Types,” said Vivian Moh Cui Ru, Year 4, the Co-Head of CNM Types. Moreover, she sees that writers are able to create more engaging articles when they are writing from passion.
Vivian was exposed to CNM Types serendipitously as she searched for articles beneficial to her student life, especially ones about internships. At the time, she was also writing her own module reviews on her personal blog and wished to reach more of her peers through a broader platform. Additionally, she wanted more opportunities to write with a clear purpose and audience in mind. And so, she decided to join CNM Types. After one and half years of writing for the publication, she became its co-head, along with Tham Kai Wai, Zachary.
Like Vivian, Zachary is a Year 4 CNM major. He became the Co-Head of CNM Types after writing for the publication for a year. As an aspiring journalist, he first joined CNM Types to sharpen his writing skills and increase the visibility of his work. However, as writing for CNM Types is more of an individual effort—with editing being the only collaborative stage—he did not have as many opportunities as he hoped for to learn from his fellow writers.
But as much as Zachary craved for a more collaborative experience, he was forced to concede that collaboration isn’t always an easy process or one where you see eye-to-eye. While editing articles, Zachary has experienced some creative differences as writers do not need to follow the changes suggested by the editor if their creative visions differ. “That can be a little disappointing in some rare cases when I think the writing has areas that need to be addressed that aren’t,” he said. Nonetheless, aside from getting to work with his peers, editing their articles helped him sharpen his writing sense.
Student publications such as CNM Types stand out in the creative freedom that they offer their writers, unlike professional publications with more rigid publishing criteria. In turn, student writers have the space to explore their interests and passions and thus craft unique articles imbued with their own flair.
Margins
Margins is a student-run literary journal that features the works of the NUS literature community and seeks to foster a stronger sense of pride among literature majors and minors (and others who are so inclined).
“There is a certain thrill in there being such a wealth of unique and daring ideas,” said Dylan Chng, the Editor-in-Chief of Margins. He joined the publication to give voice to students’ works that might not otherwise be able to reach a wider audience, and to provide incentive for writers to concretise their ideas into the written word. Moreover, the publication allowed him to gain insight into the way his peers think through the work that they submit—works that often reflect their hidden curiosities, passion, and intelligence.
The publication’s unique conversational editing was one aspect of Margins that Dylan is particularly appreciative of. Conversational editing is more collaborative and personal; the editors will work with contributors over a ten-week period to refine their submissions. The learning process is mutually beneficial as the contributors receive feedback from an objective party, while the editors hone their peer review and critical communications skills. After all, communication is complicated when both parties hold conviction in their ideas and are trying to articulate them effectively to the other.
However, his work at Margins was not always smooth-sailing. In particular, keeping to Margins’ tight editorial schedule while juggling other commitments, including his Honours Thesis, proved to be a challenge. Though, he conceded that the challenges in time management and scheduling were good practice for the working world.
As Margins covers a rich variety of topics, it is inevitable that sensitive issues, such as race, sexuality, or religion, are featured in their publications. Since Margins is first and foremost a site of intellectual discourse, the publication trusts its contributors and readers to approach such topics intellectually, regardless of their personal ideals. “As a university-level student publication, we write for an audience who are inherently learned and critically minded; personally I think the question of whether or not there is a need to censor intellectually rigorous discussion is moot,” he said.
Like many student publications, the intellectual freedom and richness of Margins is hard to come by in the post-university working world. “Students, I think, occupy that supremely idiosyncratic position between career academia and the pure, innocent curiosity that does not yet find itself beholden to the rigours of professional practice,” concluded Dylan.
Post Script
Post Script is the student-run publication of the Political Science Society of NUS (PSSOC). It aims to be a platform for students to voice their opinions on current affairs, within and beyond Singapore. Post Script stands out from other publications in that it was recently launched just last year. It is the revamped version of its predecessor, Political Pulse, which was a collection of political science essays and articles submitted by the student body.
Political Pulse was revitalised and rebranded to become Post Script, as its Editor-in-Chief, Didi Amzar, reasons, “To me, our readers want and rightfully deserve better and quality student publications. I felt that it should be more relatable and representative of the student body.” And thus, Post Script was born anew. Other than academic articles, it now offers content related to student life, as well as newer formats such as op-eds and film essays.
For Didi, the huge task of reforming Post Script from scratch was as challenging as it was enlightening. Since there were few operational processes previously established, revamping Post Script meant formally establishing an Editorial Board and Editorial Process. This proved to be all the more daunting as he had minimal experience in putting together a publication. From standardising a reader-friendly citation style and design layout to the implementation of key editorial standards, there were many details that had to be ironed out as the Editorial Board navigated the growing pains of a new publication. However, with guidance from the PSSOC ExCo and readers’ feedback, Post Script continues to grow and improve issue-by-issue.
The Editorial Standards are especially important to a publication like Post Script, as it commits to delivering well-produced content, even as it might cover (and has!) contentious political issues. Hence, responsible practices like rigorous peer review, fact-checking processes, and representing diverse viewpoints are essential. Thanks to PSSOC’s close partnership with the NUS Political Science Department, much support and space is given to Post Script to pursue topics that interest the student body, with Professors and TAs even lending their time to directly contribute to the publication.
Despite being in its nascent stages, Post Script is nonetheless a collaborative platform for students to articulate their opinions, unbound by the rigid and time-consuming red tape of academia in the working world.
The Ridge
Last but not least, we have—ourselves! For new readers, The Ridge is a publication under NUSSU that covers topics close to the students’ hearts. Our writers share their experiences under The Ridge.
Yuki Koh Suat Nee is a writer, Commentary Desk editor, and Secretary for the publication, and has been with The Ridge since 2020. “I joined the publication because I was and am still a big writer, but couldn’t find the right avenue to air my thoughts,” she said.
Like many student writers, Yuki enjoys the freedom offered by The Ridge to write about whichever topic catches her interest, though the editorial freedom has to be tempered with nuance and balance. Her initial draft on the merger between Yale-NUS and USP, for example, was overly harsh in retrospect. Even though it had to undergo a rigorous editorial process in order to ensure that both sides of the merger were accurately represented, she was nonetheless able to preserve most of the original content.
Yow Yan Ting Daphne has been a writer for The Ridge since she was a freshman. The Year 3 Communications & New Media major was also the News Desk editor the previous year. Her time at the publication has been fulfilling as she was exposed to new topics by writing about articles that were out of her comfort zone. Though, this was not without its challenges. “Time management is sometimes an issue for me, especially for articles that I find harder to write and hence take a longer time, perhaps because the topic is something unfamiliar to me,” she said.
One of the more difficult articles Daphne edited was the aforementioned article on the Yale-NUS merger. The article required extensive consultations between her and NUSSU to ensure it did not exacerbate existing tensions. Nonetheless, she enjoys her time at The Ridge, especially the close collaboration and support between all the members, regardless of whether they are a writer, editor, designer, or marketer.
Despite the need for a more extensive editorial process for sensitive issues, writers for The Ridge are nonetheless free to pursue any topic that piques their curiosity. For me, personally, this flexibility was a breath of fresh air, especially since I had done mostly copywriting and promotional content prior to joining the publication.
For anyone even remotely interested in writing, joining some of these publications might be a good start. Since our university days are the best time to explore our interests and exercise our creative freedom before entering the working world, I’d urge everyone to seize the opportunity to tell their stories.