U-Lingua 2023/24: Join us now! Deadline 12 May 2023

Overview

U-Lingua is the quarterly magazine of the Undergraduate Linguistics Association of Britain. We provide students of linguistics (prospective, undergraduate, and postgraduate!), as well as anyone interested in it, a space to explore linguistics-related topics in everyday life in the form of journalistic articles, interviews, puzzles, memes, and more! We provide our readership with a range of interesting and informative content, and function as a platform where people share their love and enthusiasm for all things related to language.

Joining the Editorial Team is your chance to help make this happen! Working for us is a great opportunity for you to deploy and expand your creativity, diligence, and skills in team work and being organised.

The magazine has 3 main Sections (News, Voices, Refreshments) and three Columns (Linguistics Lifehackers, Reviews, Twist Your Brain), and publishes quarterly (1st of July, October, January, and April) on Substack, which means during your term at U-Lingua you will work on 4 magazine Issues.

We are currently recruiting for the following roles:

Secretary
Section Editors (x3-5)
Columnists (x4)
Editorial Designer

Please note that the final number of acceptance may vary, depending on the application status.

The deadline for all applications is 23:59 BST (UTC+1) on 12th May 2022 (Friday). If you have any questions, please send an email to [email protected], which will reach Kaz, our Editor-in-Chief.

Specification

Prospective applicants must be, or must have been, studying for a degree (undergraduate or postgraduate) in linguistics or a related field at the time of appointment.

Application Information

To apply, please fill in the form here.

All applicants will be asked to provide:

A 500-word cover-letter style statement, indicating why you wish to apply, the specific experiences (if any) and what you would be able to contribute
- If you are applying to be either Section Editor or Columnist, we may consider you for all Sections/Columns, but if you have a strong preference, please specify it in your cover letter.
An up-to-date CV

In addition:

All Section Editor applicants should submit a 500-word sample of writing
All Columnist applicants should submit a 500-word sample of journal-related written work (which can be a link to published work or a personal blog)
All Editorial Designer applicants should send a portfolio of relevant previous work, submitted by email to [email protected], with the subject ‘DESIGN APPLICATION - [your name]’

Shortlisted applicants will be invited to attend a brief interview in w/c 8 May. Decisions will be communicated to all applicants by 23 May (Tuesday).

The best applicants will be able to prove that their academic, extracurricular, or personal experiences make them suitable for the position, that they have the time and flexibility to prioritise their work for U-Lingua, and that they possess excellent skills relevant to the role for which they have applied.

While no two positions may be held by the same individual, should the Editorial Committee see fit in a particular instance, applicants unsuccessful in the role for which they applied may be recommended for a different open position on our team. In this instance, the applicant would not be required to reapply altogether; instead, the Committee would reach out to suggest the applicant consider the alternate role in question and, should they accept, they would continue within the application process at whatever stage they were previously.

Role Description

All applicants are advised to consult the Organisational Handbook for the most up-to-date information on responsibilities of each role (section 2) and the structure of the magazine (section 4).

Secretary (x1)

The Secretary of U-Lingua is responsible for some aspects of the administration of the magazine, in support of the Editor-in-Chief. Their role includes (but is not restricted to) looking into and managing the printing of the magazine (an initiative U-Lingua is hoping to undertake to expand its readership); liaising with the ULAB Webmaster to ensure digital access to articles and content; assisting in the distribution of the magazine to schools and universities; coordinating with the Treasurer of the ULAB National Committee and following
up on payment of subscription fees of print Issues; and, being responsible for taking record of Editorial Team meetings.

Section Editors (x3-5)

Section Editors work for a Section of the magazine, and are responsible for sourcing and editing 2-3 articles per Issue. To achieve this, they need to proactively decide and advertise the content for their Section ahead of each
Issue, work closely with both the writers and Editor-in-Chief, to make sure that articles are clear; that the content, formatting, and referencing meet the magazine’s standards; and that drafts are submitted on time.

We are looking for 3-5 Section Editors, to fill the following roles:

1-2 Section Editor(s) in News, to edit articles about recent news, current social issues, and developments in linguistics. Please consult the News section in the Organisational Handbook (section 4.2.5) for more information.
1-2 Section Editor(s) in Voices, to edit a variety of articles on various topics relating to language and linguistics. Please consult the Voices section in the Organisation Handbook (section 4.2.6) for more information.
1 Section Editor in Refreshments, to edit a short article on various cool linguistics-related things. Please consult the Refreshments section in the Organisation Handbook (section 4.2.7) for more information.

Columnists (x4)

Columnists are each individually responsible their Column, which is published as part of one of the magazine Sections. They need to proactively decide the topic for their Column article in each Issue. They need to work closely with the Editor-in-Chief, to make sure that articles are clear; that the content, formatting, and referencing meet the magazine’s standards; and that drafts are submitted on time.

We are looking for 4 columnists, to fill the following roles:

1 Columnist associated with the Linguistics Lifehackers Column, who should be either a final-year undergraduate student or a recent graduate, where they dispense academic and non-academic tips and advice. Possible topics include essay-planning, choosing a dissertation topic, using linguistics software (IPA fonts, LaTeX, etc), or finding linguistics-related jobs.
2 Columnists associated with the Reviews Column, who review a variety of linguistics-related entertainment, tools, and more. Possible things to review include books and other literature, films and television, podcasts, blogs, games, language-learning platforms, constructed languages, IPA fonts, coding languages.
1 Columnist associated with the Twist Your Brain Column, who oversees the publication 1-2 linguistics-related puzzles per Issue. Puzzles may be in the style of UKLO- (United Kingdom Linguistics Olympiad) or IOL- (International Linguistics Olympiad) problems, classic logical (formal or informal) or semantic problems from philosophy (e.g., how many interpretations does the following sentence have?), or newspaper-style puzzles with a linguistic theme.

Editorial Designer (x1)

The Editorial Designer of U-Lingua is responsible for creating each Issue of the magazine as a visual object. This includes coming up with a suitable layout for each page and each article; sourcing and correspondingly crediting the rights’ owners of photographs used in each issue, both for Section header pages and for article pages; and making sure the whole magazine looks pleasing and professional. They should realise their own creative vision, while also ensuring that the magazine is appropriately designed, styled, and formatted in accordance with their own creative vision, the U-Lingua Style Guide, and the approval of the Editor-in-Chief.

Vacancies