Progressions Blog

PRSSA’s national blog, Progressions, is a way to share experience, offer advice and share resources while building your portfolio.

Writing for Progressions

The following are guidelines for submitting content to PRSSA publications. For more information or questions about the writing process, email the vice president of brand engagement at vpbrandengagement@prsa.org or progressions@prsa.org.

Topics

Acceptable topics for submission include advice for internship and career success; discussions of current events and public relations issues; best Chapter practices for fundraising, recruiting and connecting with professionals; advice for planning meetings and events; or other topics that are relevant to public relations students and young professionals.

Note: PRSSA does not typically accept previously published material. The views and opinions expressed in Progressions are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policies or positions of PRSSA National.

Blog copy should be more conversational than writing for a publication. However, basic journalistic principles still apply.

To maintain the high quality of Progressions, all writers are asked to research previously published articles to get a sense of the tone and content regularly published and to adhere to the writing guidelines before submitting it to the vice president of brand engagement. Pitch your topic idea to the vice president of brand engagement by using the email progressions@prsa.org.

General Writing Guidelines

• Articles should be between 500–900 words. Remember, quality over quantity.
• Be creative. Incorporate bulleted lists, infographics and other visual elements. Nontraditional formats such as photo essays, infographics, video blogs and podcasts are encouraged.
• Make posts thought provoking and help spark a conversation.
• Follow the PRSA Style Guide and AP Style.

Style and Voice

• Be professional and conversational in your tone. Stay clear and consistent. Show, don’t tell, your topic.
• Always write in an active voice. (Don’t say: There was a presentation given by Matt. Say: Matt gave a presentation.)

Citations and Facts

• Ensure accuracy by double-checking names, confirming spelling and including relevant institutions and dates.
• Any references should be hyperlinked.
• When citing a survey or statistics, provide the proper name of the survey, who conducted it and the release date.
• Include a hyperlink to referenced works when appropriate.

Grammar and Organization

• Stay organized and focused. Be creative with subheads, lists and visual elements.
• Vary sentence structure, providing a mix of simple, compound and complex sentences to avoid being redundant.

Submit your topic to progressions@prsa.org before completing the post to ease the writing and editing process for all parties. With the submission, include: 

• A 30-40 word biographical summary for yourself, which will appear at the bottom of the post if published. Remember to include your preferred pronouns.
• Your headshot.
• Your PRSA ID number – it can be found on your MyPRSA account.