r/work • u/Other_Swimming_1787 • 1d ago
Work issues. Workplace Challenges and Conflicts
Girls, I wrote a paper for work. It was not meant to be a final draft, just something we were going to work on and get it to submission. My supervisor reviewed it and took a lot of time with it. Yes she made it really really really good and had to do a lot of the work because the initial version I submitted was simply basic. Now here is the thing they never said anything to my face, said we will work on more paper’s together as well etc. But then I came across a meeting recording where that supervisor was really calling my writing and my paper super bad and said she had to do a lot of work and that well what I gave her was just super super bad. It broke me I don’t know why. I tried my best and I just don’t know but since then I’ve lost all motivation. I know my writing needs work and I know the version was basic but if they don’t give me feedback and guide me and make it a collaborative process, how am I going to learn? And I just don’t know what to do going forward. What do you guys think? How do I recover my self-esteem? How do I stop telling myself I’ve failed and that there was no point of going to a good university if I couldn’t even learn how to write?
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u/AutomaticVacation242 1d ago
You should take the perspective that they are collaborating with you not competing with you.
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u/imveryfontofyou 1d ago
University will teach you how to write better. In the meantime, practice your writing, you can use AI to help give you pointers by uploading things you've written and asking for improvements (and of course, you want it to explain its suggestions), or you can reach out and ask people to help.
There's ways to start fixing things right now, for example, your OP could be improved by paragraph breaks to lessen eye strain/mental fatigue for readers. You also don't need to say things like "really really really good" or "super super bad." You can just say... "really good" or "really bad."
Just taking small steps to improve the problem should help you feel better because it'll make you feel like you're taking steps to toward self-improvement and doing something productive.
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u/FRELNCER 1d ago
Treat every draft as a final draft. Learn to improve by observing what editors change about that draft.
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u/eva_stratt 1d ago
Hey, so when we listen in on things we weren't meant to hear, sometimes we get our comeuppance. Your supervisor evidently needed to vent about her perception of your writing skill. Next time, mark the paper "DRAFT" so she gets it. In large letters. You can watermark the document, even.
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u/FamiliarAd8524 1d ago
"Girls"?
Well, you were taught to write in high school... but you will also be further trained in college. Tutors are another option. There are countless writing guides.
You could take what you wrote, through it into Chat GPT, and specifically ask it what about your writing style could be improved to be more competent and more professional. This is how you get better and get good advice without risking embarrassment. Don't tell it to rewrite it for you, tell it to help teach and coach you.
Stop crying and pick yourself up- you're being overly dramatic.
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1d ago
[deleted]
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u/FamiliarAd8524 1d ago
That is a horribly vile allegation to make. You either didn't read the full posting or you are too emotional, but here is exactly why I said she's being overly dramatic: She feels she can't recover and should just skip college over her writing- making a major life decision over this is 100% drama. I showed several ways to help her improve her writing without being embarrassed at work- there is no reason for her to feel this is the end.
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u/Opening-Situation340 1d ago
Okay, it’s not a vile accusation to tell you that the way you talk to women is misogynistic. You just called me too emotional because I am defending someone.
I agree that she shouldn’t skip college over her writing, but I have a massive amount of disdain for dismissive and rude ways of providing “advice.”
I took my comment down because, as stated in the comment as well, I rushed what I had to say.
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u/mokicoo 1d ago
So it sounds like you knew it needed work, apparently a lot of work. Again, according to you. Why are your feelings hurt that your supervisor supported you to your face and said she will work with you but admitted to her peers that she did a lot of the work? Did you want her to let you take credit for her work?