Required Courses

English 3104 Introduction to Professional Writing (Required for majors and minors; offered every semester pending funding)
Introduces students to the theory and practice of professional writing and its functions in workplace settings. In this rhetorically-based course, students gain experience with a variety of writing situations, composing documents that solve problems or help readers make decisions. Students learn current conventions and broadly applicable procedures for analyzing the audiences, purposes, and situations of professional writing, and learn strategies for adapting these conventions and procedures to meet the unique demands of each new situation and task.

English 3804: Technical Editing and Style (Required for majors and minors; offered every semester pending funding)
Explores the art of editing from the initial writing task to the final delivery of the document. In addition to learning document management, students study and practice the roles, responsibilities, and tasks that editors perform. The course also covers the rules that govern the fundamentals of style (correctness, clarity, and propriety) and the principles needed to match the tone and formality to the aim, audience, and occasion of the work.

English 4874 (Senior Seminar): Issues in Professional and Public Discourse (Required for majors; offered every semester pending funding)
Prepares students to analyze and critique scientific and engineering documents, business communications, and representations of events, studying the consequences of those documents, communications, and representations. In doing so, they gain a clearer understanding of the rhetorical value of style, arrangement, and delivery. Consequently, they will be able to function more fully as citizens within our society and be more competent rhetoricians, regardless of their chosen profession. In addition, this course introduces students to essential legal and ethical principles needed to make sound writing decisions. Legal issues covered include freedom of the press, libel, invasion of privacy, research sources, obscenity, and copyright.

 

Electives

English 3814: Creating User Documentation (offered once a year pending funding)
Prepares students to create both print and online documentation that enables people to accomplish a given set of tasks (e.g., user guides, online help, policy and procedure manuals, tutorials, and how-to books). Readings include rhetorical theory and discussions of professional practice. Students learn the principles of user and task analysis, information design, usability testing, and indexing. In addition, they have opportunities for hands-on experience with clients and end-users.

English 3824: Designing Documents for Print (offered once a year pending funding)
Prepares students to design and produce complex documents such as proposals, brochures, booklets, and newsletters using computer technologies. Students learn rhetorical and visual factors (e.g., legibility, readability, layout, and integration of text/images) that contribute to the effectiveness and usability of documents. In addition, students study the use of color and electronic image editing. They also master some of the technologies necessary to publish documents from their desktops. In addition to working on individual projects, students engage in collaborative exercises intended to sharpen their teamwork, peer critique, editing, writing, audience-awareness, and design skills.

English 4804: Grant Proposals and Reports (offered once a year pending funding)
Prepares students to write a variety of grants, proposals, and reports for both corporate and nonprofit organizations. Students study the purpose and theory behind such documents and learn how form, content, style, and design work together to create a persuasive package. After learning the uses, purposes, conventions, and strategies for producing and presenting a variety of different proposals and reports (e.g., grant and bid proposals, recommendation reports, and feasibility studies), students practice writing and presenting such documents for real-world clients. (Sample Syllabus)

English 4814: Writing for the Web (offered once a year pending funding)
Prepares students to create documents for the World Wide Web. By studying how people read, navigate, and process online information, students learn effective principles for writing and editing text, integrating graphics, and designing pages and sites to serve a variety of purposes. In addition, students master some of the technologies necessary to produce successful Web pages. They apply current research on information design and usability to evaluate existing Web sites for clarity and effectiveness, and work in teams to create original Web sites for real-world clients.

English 4964: Internship and Portfolio Building
Allow students to further develop writing and editing skills and earn academic credit while working with a person or organization needing writing or editing services. Students keep a portfolio of work samples and write analytical and evaluative papers during and at the end of their experience. Final grades are based on reports from on-site supervisors and the supervising professor's evaluation of the portfolio and papers. Visit the Internship Program web site for more details.

 

Additional Electives for Non-Majors/Minors

English 4824: Scientific Writing (offered once a year pending funding; offered as 4984 for Spring 2003)
Introduces students in the natural and social sciences to the range of discourses used in those fields. Singly and in collaboration with their peers, students practice composing a variety of scientific documents, including grant proposals, research and review articles, poster presentations, and descriptive and informative abstracts. Through required reading, class discussion, and lecture, students learn the rhetorical characteristics of scientific writing, the problems associated with communicating across disciplines, and the mechanics of publishing in scientific fields.

English 3764 Technical Writing (offered once a year pending funding)
Introduces students in technical fields to the types of writing expected in their workplaces. Students learn to compose documents such as correspondence, instructions, reports, abstracts, reviews, research posters, and proposals for a variety of audiences, including managers, peers, technicians, and lay people. In addition, the course addresses discipline-specific citation methods, technical research skills (including use of electronic databases), electronic communication, collaborative writing, and ethical issues in scientific and technical communication.

English 3774 Business Writing (offered once a year pending funding)
Introduces students in business fields to the types of writing expected in their workplaces. Students learn to compose documents such as correspondence, feasibility studies, annual reports, and proposals for a variety of audiences, including managers, peers, customers, and the public. In addition, the course addresses discipline-specific citation methods, research skills (including use of electronic databases), and ethical issues in business communication. By developing practical workplace documents, students learn the principles of problem-solving, deadline management, audience awareness, and collaborative writing essential to successful professional communication.