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College of Letters & Sciences

What is Professional Writing and Publishing?

The Professional Writing and Publishing (PWP) program offers students versatile and practical expertise through its major, minor, and certificate. Our courses prepare you to write creatively and analytically in multiple genres and workplace settings.

Whether in business, marketing, management, sciences, arts, project management, content development, politics, or education—even if the job title you want is not necessarily writer or editor—countless careers require professionals to write clearly and effectively.

What will I learn in PWP?

Professional Writing and Publishing students learn to...

Write clearly, concisely, and coherently.
Adapt grammatical rules and conventions to audience and purpose.
Analyze diverse rhetorical, cultural, and conventional dimensions of discourse.
Research and shape content effectively and ethically.
Edit texts to professional standards set forth in authoritative language references and style guides.
Design and test usable and accessible information.
Practicethe effective use of software predominant in professional writing and editing fields.
Collaborate effectively, from team participation to project management.

What can I do with training in PWP?

PWP students are prepared to enter a broad range of information-based positions, including in technical and scientific writing; editing and publication development; document design; marketing, fundraising, and social media writing; web content development and usability testing; training; and information project management. These are some common career paths PWP alumni can follow and some of the titles PWP alumni have held:

List of PWP Jobs

HOW DOES THE PWP MAJOR WORK?

Download a current PWP Major Checklist here: MAJOR CHECKLIST

CORE COURSES (18cr)

CRITICAL WRITING (3cr)

ENGLISH 271 | Critical Writing in the Field of English
or PWP 272 | Critical Writing in Multimedia Contexts

TECHNICAL WRITING (3cr)

PWP 371 | Writing in the Sciences
or PWP 372 | Technical and Professional Writing

PWP ELECTIVES (6cr)

ENGLISH ELECTIVES (6cr)

Choose two English literature or film courses level 200 or above.

HOW DOES THE PWP MINOR WORK?

Download a current PWP Minor Checklist here: MINOR CHECKLIST

REQUIRED CORE (15cr)

ELECTIVES (6cr)

HOW DOES THE PWP CERTIFICATE WORK?

Download a current PWP Certificate Checklist here: CERTIFICATE CHECKLIST

REQUIRED CORE (3cr)

PWP 230 | Foundations of Professional Writing and Editing

ELECTIVES (9cr)

Professional Writing and Publishing Courses

PWP 230: Foundations of Professional Writing and Editing

Students will be introduced to current practices in and theories behind what makes a good writer/editor, attending to context, purpose, and the needs of various audiences.

PWP 272: Critical Writing in Multimedia Contexts

In this course, students will learn to conceptualize, structure, and produce analytical writing in multiple forms within digital contexts. Since such contexts are often multi-modal—layered with visual images as well as sound—instruction will include the analysis and appropriation of the visual and auditory in critical writing.

PWP 310: The Grammar of Standard Written English

This is a course in the grammar of relatively formal and planned written English. We will review a vocabulary for talking about the structural choices that are available to writers of English, and use this vocabulary to practice analyzing and constructing sentences and parts of sentences. The course is meant primarily for people whose professional plans include writing or editing.

PWP 320: Style: Principles and Practices

Introduction to analysis and revision of texts for their style by a) assessing the rhetorical situations of these texts and b) becoming conversant and widely accepted principles and categories of style. Focus is on stylistic concerns such as clarity, coherence, cohesion, emphasis, concision, shape, and elegance.

PWP 330: Copyediting

Apply and further develop skills needed to work with authors and prepare a manuscript for publication. Focus is on the procedures of editing a manuscript, particularly editing for correctness and style, following the conventions of The Chicago Manual of Style.

PWP 332: Writing for the Web

Writing for the Web is designed to survey the many forms of online writing, focusing on community contributions, blogs, Web pages, Wikis and writng for the Web in students' particular academic disciplines. Students will examine each of these forms' conventions, create and contribute to such texts, and reflect upon the cultural significance of those forms.

PWP 366: Topics in Professional Writing

Variable topics course that will focus on particular subsets of professional writing, editing, or rhetorical analysis relevant to these fields. Topics might include discourse analysis, argumentation, technical editing, content strategy, translation studies, or writing and editing for specific fields (e.g. science, medicine, environmental studies, etc.).

PWP 371: Writing in the Sciences

Instruction on the nature of writing in the sciences, including features of scientific genres and strategies for producing effective texts.

PWP 372: Technical and Professional Writing

Students will learn a rhetorical approach to producing common technical and professional writing genres, such as memos, reports, technical descriptions, and instructions. This course addresses practical skills of professional and technical style, as well as ethics, data visualization, and user experience in international contexts.

PWP 430: Publication Development

The course will survey the function of the editor in planning and developing a major publication. The course examines different editorial roles, gives an overview of publishing processes, and focuses on acquiring texts, developing the author-editor relationship, organizing and restructuring texts, checking facts, and developing production specifications.

PWP 435: Grant Writing

This is an advanced writing course on the genre of the proposal, pairing students with clients to produce a grant. The course benefits students who will write proposals for their own work as well as students who wish to add the proposal genre to their portfolio of professional writing skills.

PWP 440: Portfolio Development

This course focuses on exploring career paths related to professional writing and publishing, learning industry-standard design software, and building an integrative professional portfolio.

PWP 493: Internship in Professional Writing/Editing

Offered on a satisfactory/no credit basis only. Professional experience, as available, for suitably prepared students wishing to make careers in professional writing and/or editing. Repeatable for a maximum of six credits in degree.