ENGL 204: Professional Writing

No matter what career they choose after graduation, successful professionals need to understand the dynamics of workplace writing. This course is designed to introduce students to rhetorical approach to workplace writing and support them along their chosen career path. This course will take a humanities approach to workplace writing, attending to the way language shapes the production and reception of workplace writing and its circulation. In this course, students will analyze common documents and the ways in which these documents create particular worlds for users. Students will compose workplace documents with specific attention to the needs of audiences and institutions. Time will also be spent paying attention to document design and usability. Finally, students will explore the ethics of workplace writing paying specific attention to how it uplifts or oppresses historically oppressed communities. Students will produce writing suitable for the writing proficiency requirement portfolio.