Concentration or Minor in Professional Writing

Here we provide information on course requirements, course descriptions and an Academic Rhode Map for each program, a semester-by-semester plan to help you toward graduation in four years.

English BA Course Requirements

English Course Descriptions

Academic Rhode Map for English BA with Professional Writing

Upon completion of this program, students will be able to: 

• understand writing as both an activity (something you do) and a subject of study (something into which you can inquire)
• develop a rhetorical disposition and frame of mind which understands writers as always engaged in the work of making meaning for particular audiences & purposes
• practice “writing-to-learn” in order to understand writing as a knowledge-generating activity & method of critical thinking
• engage with various communicative modes (i.e. visual, linguistic, aural) to meet the exigencies of rhetorical situations
• develop knowledge of and practice with key aspects of document design
• practice reflection as a critical process of writerly self-development
• understand and appreciate the ethical dimensions of writing (i.e. to write is to propose a relationship with other human beings)
• understand and practice writing as an iterative and recursive process and writing development as an ongoing process of life-long learning
• develop critical literacy skills in order to learn how to locate reliable information, learn from it, and write effectively about it

Why or in what ways is writing important to your discipline/field/profession? 

Writing is central to all aspects of the discipline of English. It is a means of thinking about texts and how writers create them, of reflecting on learning, of discovering and demonstrating new knowledge, of applying critical and creative ways of thinking to disciplinary issues and problems, of understanding oneself and the world, of developing intellectual agency and of working for social change. 

Which courses are designated as satisfying the Writing in the Discipline (WID) requirement by your department? Why these courses? 

The concentration in professional writing has the following WID courses: 

• ENGL 222: Introduction to Professional Writing 

• ENGL 378: Advanced Workshop in Professional Writing 

• ENGL 379: Rhetoric for Professional Writing 

• ENGL 477: Internship in Professional Writing 

These courses were chosen because they represent key moments in each program where you will learn and demonstrate writing knowledge and skills. We would add, however, that virtually all courses in English, and especially those in creative writing and professional writing, are writing-intensive, where writing is assigned, taught and evaluated. 

What forms or genres of writing will you learn and practice in your WID courses? Why these genres? 

The range of genres or forms of writing in which you will engage and practice is too extensive to list in its entirety and depends, to a significant extent, on your chosen concentration within the major. Having said this, we offer a few examples of the writing students do in different concentrations below. 

Within the literature concentration, students produce literary/cultural analysis papers that require skills of close reading and knowledge of and dexterity with applying critical and analytical approaches to texts. 

Within the creative writing concentration students practice the writing skills that inform key literary genres such as fiction, poetry and nonfiction.  

Within the professional writing concentration, students produce reports, proposals, analysis papers, research papers and various digital and multimodal texts. 

Students in each concentration must take courses in the other concentrations, so they will range outside the genres described above to experiment with and practice a variety of academic, creative and professional genres of writing. 

What kinds of teaching practices will you encounter in your WID courses? 

The English Department has long prided itself on engaging in “best practices” when it comes to the teaching of writing. We will engage you in scaffolded writing assignments that initially include low-stakes or informal writing to help you make sense of challenging readings and materials; in this way you write to learn as you learn to write. You will also practice key moves in lower stakes writing assignments that inform higher stakes writing projects for midterm papers and final projects. Small group workshops and tutorials are a regular part of our practice and provide crucial feedback for effective writing. In virtually all of your courses we provide models and exemplars of the work we ask you to produce. We often hold one-on-one conferences to guide you in individual challenges and difficulties. In sum, we engage in the full-range of practices that research in the teaching and learning of writing has shown helps students learn to write well. 

When you have satisfied your department’s WID requirement, you should be able to: 

• demonstrate intellectual competency, critical thinking, close reading, the ability to break large assignments into manageable pieces and the skills to revise and edit your own work.
• use writing to problem solve, to collaborate and persuade, to reason and come to a conclusion based on reliable information and to reflect on yourself, your learning and the world around you
• produce writing that is guided by purpose and engages and moves an intended audience (You will, finally, know that learning to write well is a lifelong journey and that to succeed as a writer you must be adaptable and flexible, suiting your words to the situation. You will know that writing can help change the world.) 

Declaring a minor allows you to explore other areas of interest and make interdisciplinary connections. Minor areas at RIC complement and reinforce all major areas of study. By declaring a minor, you can set yourself apart as a candidate for job, internship and volunteer opportunities.

Minor in Professional Writing