Elon University - Department of English

Professional Writing Studies

Coordinator: Lecturer Strickland,
Director of Writing Across the Curriculum*

Professional writing is an interdisciplinary minor designed for students across the disciplines who would like to add to their majors focused study and practice in applied writing. This minor is intended not only to strengthen the writing instruction offered to students across the disciplines, but also to responsibly prepare students for the steadily increasing numbers of specialized professional, technical and medical writing positions in government agencies, industry and nonprofit organizations.

The minor is broad and flexible enough that students can formulate course sequences appealing to their specific interests. It is also structured tightly enough to effectively guide students' curricular decisions.

A required introductory course prepares students to see writing broadly as a complex, highly situated form of social action and production. Three required practice courses engage students in hands-on projects where they learn to apply advanced practical writing skills within specific contexts. A variety of internship experiences are possible in which students have a chance to practice what they have learned in actual disciplinary or professional contexts.

The minor requires a minimum of 20 semester hours. Practice/applied courses must be chosen from at least two disciplines.

A minor in Professional Writing Studies requires the following:

ENG 215 Introduction to Professional Writing & Rhetoric**	4 sh
Twelve semester hours chosen from the following practice/applied courses; courses must be chosen from at least two disciplines:	12 sh
ART 263 Digital Art I ART 363 Digital Art II BUS 202 Business Communications ENG 211 Style and Writing ENG 212 Writing, Rhetoric and Interface Design ENG 219 Writing Studies Survey ENG 304 Understanding Rhetoric ENG 310 Cross-Cultural Rhetoric ENG 311 Document Research, Management and Production ENG 312 Visual Rhetoric and Document Design ENG 318 Technical and Scientific Writing ENG 319 Writing Center Workshop ENG 397 Writing as Inquiry ENG 411 Advanced Topics in Professional Writing and Rhetoric HUS 412 Professional Communication JCM 304 Public Relations and Civic Responsibility JCM 322 Writing for Electronic Media JCM 327 Corporate Publishing JCM 338 Magazine Publishing JCM 364 Web Publishing
Four semester hours from one disciplinary internship course. (The course must be carefully designed as a professional writing internship and approved by the director of Writing Across the Curriculum.Most ENG 381 or 481 courses can be designed for this purpose and approved.)	4 sh
TOTAL	20 sh

*Note: The minor is jointly administered by the English department and the Interdisciplinary Writing Committee, chaired by the director of Writing Across the Curriculum, who also serves as the minor's coordinator. All questions should be referred to the coordinator.

**Note: With approval of the coordinator, ENG 304, Understanding Rhetoric, may be substituted for ENG 215.