Learn More and ApplyProfessional Writing (Minor)

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The Minor in Professional Writing, offered by the Department of Writing, Rhetoric, & Discourse (WRD), is a 5-course minor available to any undergraduate student in the university. The department understands the term professional writing to refer broadly to the kinds of literate activities taken up by individuals whose work is creative, intellectually challenging, and ethically grounded. Core courses in the program are designed to prepare students as effective writers for any context in which writing is a key competency. Because nearly all professional writing today takes place in digital environments, digital writing—the combination of alphabetic text with other modes, such as sound and image—is central to the program core and an element of many electives.

The breadth of choices within the Minor in Professional Writing makes it an excellent complement to any major and a fine choice for students pursuing graduate school in any discipline, including law. The Professional Writing Minor allows a wide range of choices: you may take courses in which your own writing—in various genres and contexts—is the focus, or you may study theories of language, rhetoric (how to make effective choices as writers), and discourse (the way writing structures human activity) to develop an understanding of the role of the individual writer within communities of writers.

The program comprises two required core courses and twelve hours of electives, which may be chosen from among all of the department's undergraduate offerings numbered 203-205 and 207-399.

Course Requirements​

Course Title Quarter Hours
WRD 201DIGITAL WRITING4
WRD 206PROFESSIONAL WRITING4
Select 12 additional credit hours from WRD courses 203-205, 207-226, 230-399:12
STYLE FOR WRITERS
PROFESSIONAL WRITING FOR BUSINESS (FOR NON-NATIVE SPEAKERS)
TECHNICAL WRITING
HISTORY OF LITERACIES AND WRITING
INTRODUCTION TO WRITING AND RHETORIC
INTRODUCTION TO REASONED DISCOURSE
GENRE AND DISCOURSE
CULTURAL RHETORICS
HOW LANGUAGE WORKS
GOOGLING GOD: RELIGIOUS PRACTICES IN DIGITAL CULTURE
THE LANGUAGE OF DISABILITY
ARGUMENTATIVE WRITING
THE ESSAY FROM PRINT TO NEW MEDIA
WRITING WITH AI
RHETORICAL ANALYSIS
DIGITAL CULTURE
THE RHETORIC OF EVERYDAY TEXTS
READING BETWEEN THE GROOVES: THE RHETORICAL POWER OF POPULAR MUSIC
LANGUAGE, SELF AND SOCIETY
SOCIAL MOVEMENT, SOCIAL MEDIA, AND AMERICAN IDENTITIES
LEVELING UP: THE SOCIAL RHETORIC OF VIDEO GAMES
ACADEMIC READING FOR INTERNATIONAL/MULTILINGUAL STUDENTS
WRITING IN THE SCIENCES
WRITING CENSORSHIP
ETHICS OF PUBLIC AND PROFESSIONAL WRITING
ENVIRONMENTAL WRITING
SPORTS WRITING IN AMERICA: MYTHS, MEMORIES, HEROES AND VILLAINS
TRUTH IN DISGUISE: THE RHETORIC OF SATIRE
WRITING WITH PHOTOGRAPHS
THE COMIC BOOK AS VISUAL ARGUMENT
RHETORIC AND POPULAR CULTURE
WRITING ABOUT RIGHTS
WRITER'S TOOLS WORKSHOP
THE SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH POSTER
COMPOSITION AND STYLE
WORKPLACE WRITING: THEORY AND PRACTICE
RHETORICAL TRADITIONS
TOPICS IN WRITING, RHETORIC AND DISCOURSE
TOPICS IN PROFESSIONAL WRITING
WRITING IN THE LEGAL PROFESSION
WRITING AND METADATA
EDITING
WRITING FOR PUBLIC HEALTH AND HEALTH CARE
RHETORIC IN CRISIS CONTEXTS
GRANT AND PROPOSAL WRITING
CONTENT WRITING
LANGUAGE AND LINGUISTICS
WRITING AND REVISING
GHOSTWRITING
TOPICS IN RHETORIC
TOPICS IN ALTERNATIVE RHETORICS
SEMIOTICS
VISUAL RHETORIC
CHICAGO WOMEN RHETORS
MIGRATION & STORYTELLING
GLOBAL ENGLISHES
MENTORING YOUTH IN COMMUNITY WRITING GROUPS
DIGITAL STORYTELLING
FIELDWORK IN ARTS WRITING
WRITING AND SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT
TEACHING ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE IN CHICAGO
RHETORIC AND PUBLIC WRITING
WRITING CENTER THEORY & PEDAGOGY
WRITING FELLOWS THEORY AND PRACTICE
INTERNSHIP
INDEPENDENT STUDY

Students majoring in Writing and Rhetoric (BA) are restricted from earning this minor.

Professional Writing Minor Online

The required courses in the Professional Writing minor and many WRD electives are also offered online. Interested students may therefore complete the Professional Writing minor entirely online.​