Professional Writing Minor

Description

This minor is intended to help prepare students for writing-intensive jobs or careers, or for advanced study.

The program is balanced between courses emphasizing practical writing skills and those emphasizing historical or theoretical approaches to language. Choices within the elective category meet individual student needs.

Students electing this minor will be assigned a faculty advisor to help tailor the program for individual needs.

Course Requirements And Electives

Requirements (3 courses, 9 hours):

1. Eng 305 (Technical Writing) and Eng 306 (Business Writing): 6 hours. These courses provide a practical foundation in writing skills: planning, research, organization, and format, drafting, revision, editing, integration of visuals. (Students may count the course if it is being taken to fulfull Gen. Ed. C2).

2. One of the following: Eng 311/FLL 311 (Introduction to Language),Eng 312 (English Grammar): 3 hours. This course will introduce students to a significant historical or theoretical aspect of language.

Electives (3 courses, 9 hours).

To enrich either the practical or historical/theoretical side of the minor, students may elect three courses, distributed from the following categories:

a. ONE additional course from Advanced Writing Group (Eng 300, Eng 301, Eng 304).

b. ONE course from creative writing sequence (either Eng 207 or Eng 303).

c. Up to TWO courses selected from those graduate courses that emphasize professional writing or writing theory:

Eng 550 Language Theory
Eng 560 Writing Theory
Eng 580 Theories and Methods of Teaching Composition

We will also be proposing a new course at the 500-level on topics in writing. Possible topics include computer-related topics (e.g., hypertext, e-mail) or specific topics in business writing (e.g., proposal writing).

d. Eng 492 (Practicum in English).

e. ONE upper division writing-intensive literature course upon approval of department chair.