Professional and Creative Writing

Peer tutor training is designed to provide an academic experience that will prepare students to serve as tutors. Students will focus on communication skills, learning styles, need analysis, and tutoring strategies.

1 CreditHPrerequisite: EN110

This course will provide an academic foundation for students who are serving as Writing Associates for first-year classes. Students will focus on how to provide provide formative feedback to students and maintain clear communication with professors. Coursework will include exploration of writing theory and learning modalities. This course will be required in order to serve as a Writing Associate.

1 Credit  

In this course, we'll explore the three primary creative writing genres: fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Through assigned texts, we'll establish a common vocabulary of concepts for discussing form, voice, point of view, structure, and other important elements of craft. You'll then put those concepts into practice by writing in each genre. Every student will be required to submit at least one poem, essay, or work of fiction to be read and discussed during in-class workshops.

4 CreditsWK-CEPrerequisite: FYC-101

This course immerses students into the study and practice of writing that strives to bring about social change. Students will explore the argumentative tactics of writing in the service of advocacy, activism, and non-profit organizations, as well as its circulation across audiences and platforms. In addition to crafting public-facing genres like op-eds, persuasive articles, and posters, students investigate the process of grant-writing and the strategies of media campaigns. (Previously titled Writing for Social Change)

H,SW-USPrerequisite: FYC-101

This course covers the types of writing used in the professional and business world, with attention to deciding when to use which type, or whether to use writing at all. Also concentrates on effectively addressing different audiences. The course will also cover the use of graphics, from basic concepts through effective design and adjusting to audience and situation. 

4 CreditsH, CWPrerequisite: First-year or sophomore standing. Juniors and Seniors by instructor permission.

This course explores how visuals and text are used for purposes of identification, information, and persuasion. It looks at many visual modes such as comics, ads, maps, graffiti, film, art, scientific images, and web sites. Students have the option to create arguments using only text, only images, or a combination of both. 

4 CreditsHPrerequisite: EN110 or EN109.

An intensive workshop in poetic technique, plus extensive writing of poetry for class discussions and criticism. Emily Dickinson said: " If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know this is poetry. " Whether you are a novice or an experienced poet, this course will teach you to take off the top of people's heads.

3 CreditsHPrerequisite: EN110 or EN109.

In this course, we will work to develop skills in the art of writing fiction. Students will study fiction as a craft, read and discuss fiction by major writers, critique each other's work, and write and revise extensively.

4 CreditsF,H,WK-CEPrerequisite: FYC 101

An experience in creating forms of nonfiction prose ranging from analytical essay to the familiar essay to satire. First-year students need the instructor's permission to enroll.

4 CreditsH, CWPrerequisite: EN110 or EN109.

This advanced writing course introduces students to the genres and techniques of journalism. Students will write a number of news and feature stories. The writing process involves interviewing, note taking and other forms of data gathering on campus and local news events, creating multiple story drafts and participating in peer-editing workshops: work culminates in a portfolio of stories written throughout the semester. Students need not plan to become professional media writers to benefit from the course.

4 CreditsH, CWPrerequisite: EN110 or EN109.

An examination of writing for the real world: as such it concentrates equally on content and practice. The course builds around various document designs and waysto present those designs in expressions appropriate to audience and purpose. While sophomores are allowed to register they may be removed from the course if the demand by upperclassmen is high.

4 CreditsH, CWPrerequisites: EN110 or EN109 and Sophomore, Junior or Senior standing.

This course focuses on both the use of ethical principles to design games and the critical study of ethical games, which position players to make ethical decisionsthroughout the game. After learning about ethical principles through play and analysis, students design a text-based game where players make ethical choices shaping the narrative and experience of the game.

3 CreditsSW-ER,H,CWPrerequisite: FYC-101

When we want to convey a message to others, how do we choose whether to Tweet, blog, or shoot video? And why does it matter which we choose? Contemporary life asks us to be agile interpreters of images, texts, and sounds. In response, this course immerses students into the theory and practice of how and why we choose the media in which we communicate. Students explore how we understand and manipulate media, but also how media-in and of themselves-influence what gets written and how. Through an assignment sequence that includes text, webtext, image, sound, and video, students gain strength and versatility as writers by honing their awareness of genre, audience, and rhetorical situation. The course culminates in a multimodal, web-based portfolio. This course may be of interest to those considering not only professional writing, but also business, marketing, technology, creative entrepreneurship, media studies, art, and/or design.

3 CreditsH,CW,CTDHPre-Req: FYC-101 or EN-110 or EN-109.

Writing for Video Production is a course that combines contemporary rhetoric, creative inquiry, design thinking, media authorship, self-reflection, and social engagement. Students complete directed writing such as journal entries, scripts, storyboards, and shotlists in concert with video production, facilitating an integrated process of thinking, creating, and problem-solving. 

4 CreditsH,CW,CTDH,WK-CETake FYC-101 or EN-110 or EN-109

This course provides a broad understanding of editing and its role in document development, publication, and use. Students will learn to edit effectively on a range of editing tasks and documents and edit documents for a community partner project. These skills will prepare students for a variety of professional editing positions.

3 CreditsH,SW-LEPrerequisite: FYC-101 or EN-110 or EN-109.

English students may apply their acquired skills and knowledge in on-the-job internships suring their junior or senior year for a total of 2-9 credit hours. Requires permission of the instructor and junior or senior standing.

2-9 CreditsHCorequisite: EN-495.

In addition to the on-the-job experience provided by the internship, the student is required to complete academic research related to the placement. Requires permission of instructor and junior or senior standing.

2-6 CreditsHCorequisite: EN-490.