Minor in Public and Professional Writing

Overview of the Minor in Public and Professional Writing

The public and professional realms require keen researchers, effective communicators, and rhetorical problem solvers. The English Minor in Public and Professional Writing (PPW) aims to develop these capacities in a curriculum that foregrounds writing as a form of action and helps students develop a reflective public and professional self.

In addition to practicing writing typical to workplace settings, students who minor in Public and Professional Writing will learn rhetorical flexibility and the ability to analyze and respond to writing contexts. Public and Professional Writing program participants will explore how writers navigate dynamics to pursue professional goals, serve a public interest, and construct diverse audiences as publics. Students who want to use writing for social action or to enhance their professional and public lives are good candidates for the PPW minor. In advanced courses, students will make their previous or concurrent writing contexts–their academic major, internship, civic engagement, publishing experience, and so on–the object of study, creating an integrative learning experience.

What Can I Do with this Minor?

A minor in public and professional writing can help students distinguish themselves in their chosen professions. It also expands their career opportunities to include:

• Professional writer
• Business communications specialist
• Technical writer
• Science writer
• Usability expert
• Social media specialist
• Technical editor or publisher
• Digital journalist
• Public relations specialist
• Copy editor
• Teacher/professor

Minor in Public and Professional Writing Outcomes

As a result of this minor, students should be able to:

1. Analyze a discourse community by identifying its ethical norms, goals, power relations, and the socially and historically constructed features of its practices and artifacts.
2. Evaluate the authority, credibility, and relevance of information and develop a repertoire of research strategies.
3. Demonstrate both rhetorical flexibility and a sophisticated command of generic, formal, and stylistic conventions.
4. Envision a public and professional self that builds on past experience and across multiple contexts

For more information on the PPW minor in a printable format, please see the Public and Professional Writing Minor Sheet.