Sunday, June 20, 2021
By:
I had an excellent time this week going through the editing process for my first FYI bulletin about the House Science Committee Ocean-Shot hearing. Bulletins contain between 750 and 1,500 words and typically cover three to four topics in depth. As I mentioned in my last blog post, I have focused exclusively on writing shorter blurbs to date, making this my longest piece of writing at FYI.
Bulletins go through several stages of editing. The first edit entails mostly high-level feedback about the draft’s content and flow. I had the opportunity to practice FYI’s traditional short three paragraph introduction followed by several larger paragraphs explaining the significance of committee members’ statements. On Thursday, I submitted my second draft to my mentor, who will provide more technical feedback and eventually do a redline of the piece.
This experience has challenged me to think critically about how to best summarize hearings. I have learned the importance of allotting roughly equal text to committee chairs and ranking members of both parties to ensure fair levels of representation. The Ocean-Shot hearing was notable in that it revealed bipartisan support for the funding of ocean mapping efforts. The members of Congress present at the hearing cited various financial- and health-related reasons to support Ocean-Shots. One congresswoman from the landlocked state of Oklahoma discussed the importance of severe weather event prevention as one of the motivating factors in her decision to support an effort commonly associated with coastal areas.
Aside from work, I want to mention my appreciation for my intern cohort. Earlier this evening, a friend of mine struggling with an advanced calc problem reached out for help. When I realized that I was unfamiliar with the topic, I sent a message in our group chat and got three responses within minutes (on a Saturday evening no less). Despite the fact that we aren’t living together in DC, there is a strong sense of community within our cohort. Shoutout to Gina, Jess, and Madison for their kindness and impromptu math help. I cannot wait to meet everyone at PhysCon 2022.
Until next week,
Julia Bauer