Punctuate! Your Degree

Did You Know

Surveys of employers and professional organizations (e.g., American Bar
Association) consistently point to writing and other communication skills as
among the most important for success in today’s knowledge-based economy
(Defining a 21st Century Education, Center for Public Education)

Writing and communication competencies are key to advancing into supervisory positions in the workplace

In order to address deficiencies, many companies require writing-based training
of salaried employees; workers who already have such training could save their
employers money (Writing: A Ticket to Work, The National Commission on Writing)

Many businesses and organizations employ writing and communication specialists, especially those trained to write for new media

Students in Our Program

  • Take small workshop-oriented courses
  • Work with nationally recognized faculty
  • Develop in-depth writing and rhetorical
    competencies
  • Work for and with clients on real-world
    writing projects
  • Develop compelling e-portfolios of
    writing to share with potential employers
  • Gain credentials that give them a competitive edge in the job market

Minor in Writing and Rhetoric

(18 credit hours)
  • Only one required core course
  • Only prereq for all courses is ENC 1102
  • Writing-intensive courses in your major can count toward the minor
  • Self-directed program—you choose among a variety of courses
  • Appropriate for students in any major, particularly for students planning to
    enter writing-intensive professions (e.g., law, editing and publishing, health
    professions, public relations and marketing, new media development,
    communications management, journalism, and more)

 

Program Courses Emphasize

  • Rhetoric, or the art of persuasion, as a means
    of civic engagement
  • Service-learning and community-based
    writing
  • Workplace writing and editing
  • Advanced research skills and professional
    habits of mind
  • Writing with various technologies and media