Quad Cities Campus

Minor in Professional Writing: 18 s.h.

  1. Core: ENG 381; ENG 480 or 483: 6 s.h.
  2. Four elective courses (two must be ENG courses) chosen from: 12 s.h.
    ENG 370, 380, 383, 387, 480*, 481, 482, 483*, 484, 495; BCOM 320; JOUR 305, 306, 330, 332, 333, 334, 340, 348, 436

*No course may count as core and elective in an individual’s degree plan. Note: No more than one course which fulfills a requirement for a major may be counted in the minor.

English Courses

370 Rhetorical Grammar. (3) Use a rhetorical framework to study grammatical and discourse structures and apply them to students’ own writing. Prerequisites: ENG 180 and 280, or permission of instructor.

380 Writing in the Humanities and Social Sciences. (3) Reading, analyzing, and writing discipline-specific texts; students will write about content from their major fields. Writing Instruction in the Discipline (WID) course. BGS online writing course. Prerequisites: ENG 180 and 280, or permission of instructor.

381 Technical Communication. (3) Developing informative, reader-centered technical communication. Writing, testing, and revising common genres and styles. Writing Instruction in the Discipline (WID) course. BGS online writing course. Prerequisites: ENG 180 and 280, or permission of instructor.

383 Public and Persuasive Writing. (3) Reading, analyzing, and writing texts from various public, persuasive discourses: political rhetoric, legal discourse, media presentations, and/or other texts. Prerequisites: ENG 180 and 280, or permission of instructor.

387 Writing Workshop: Nonfiction. (3) Work in the writing of literary nonfiction. Prerequisites: ENG 180 and 280, or consent of instructor.

480 Computers and Writing. (3) Practice and study of computer-mediated communication. File management, word processing, networked communication, hypertext, and other current applications. Prerequisites: ENG 180 and 280.

481 Topics in Rhetoric and Composition. (3, repeatable for different topics to 6) Semester-long study of a topic in the theory, practice, pedagogy, or history of rhetoric and composition. Prerequisites: ENG 180 and 280.

482 Life Writing. (3) Issues relevant for writing biography and/or autobiography. Relevant theory and practice, such as research, interviewing, and revision. Prerequisite: ENG 180 and 280, or permission of instructor.

483 Professional Editing. (3) Study of professional copy-editing techniques and practice editing manuscripts. Prerequisites: ENG 180, ENG 280, and departmental WID course.

484 Writing Center Tutoring. (3) Tutoring in the WIU Writing Center; includes intensive training and work experience in the Writing Center. Prerequisites: ENG 180, ENG 280, any departmental WID course, and permission of instructor. Graded S/U only.

495 Internship. (1–12, repeatable to 12) Actual work assignments and on-the-job experiences in businesses and public agencies which value the skills of intellect, imagination, research, reading, and writing of the English major. Prerequisite: permission of department chairperson. Graded S/U only.

Journalism Courses

305 Reviewing and Criticism. (3) Practice in reviewing books, plays, films, concerts, radio-television programs, and exhibits. Prerequisites: JOUR 121, 231, and 232, or consent of instructor.

306 Editorials. (3) Practice in writing editorials and columns with an emphasis on calling for action, taking a position, analyzing events, and supporting assertions with research. Prerequisites: JOUR 121, 231, and 232, or consent of instructor.

330 Magazine and Feature Writing. (3) Practice in writing and placing fact-based articles for generalinterest and specialized magazines, and for newspapers. Writing Instruction in the Discipline (WID) course. Prerequisites: JOUR 121, 231, and 232, or consent of instructor.

332 Sports Writing. (3) Development of reporting skills needed to cover traditional and new sports; development of critical thinking to clarify rules, regulations, and problems in sports. Prerequisites: JOUR 121, 231, and 232; or consent of instructor.

333 Specialized Press. (3) Makeup, illustration, copy preparation, advertising, and editorial policies of newsletters and other organizational publications. Prerequisites: JOUR 121, 231, and 232, or consent of instructor.

334 Public Affairs and Beat Reporting. (3) Practice in reporting various news beats, including government, business, environment, religion, education, health, seniors, transportation, agriculture, and sciencetechnology. Prerequisites: JOUR 121, 231, and 232, or consent of instructor.

340 Public Relations Writing: Techniques and Style. (3) Techniques of public relations writing for print and broadcast media, and for special audiences; public relations research; legal considerations. Writing Instruction in the Discipline (WID) course. Prerequisite: JOUR 121 or consent of instructor.

348 Advertising Copy and Layout. (3) Principles and practice of writing advertising copy for mass media; using technology to prepare layouts; portfolio development. Writing Instruction in the Discipline (WID) course. Prerequisites: JOUR 121 and 331, or consent of instructor.

436 International Public Relations. (3) (Global Issues) Comparative study of the nature, scope, and practice of international public relations for businesses, trade associations, nonprofit organizations, and educational and governmental institutions. Global and intercultural aspects of public relations will be emphasized. Open to non-majors. Prerequisite: JOUR 329 or consent of instructor.

BUSINESS COMMUNICATION (BCOM)

320 Business Communications. (3) Conceptual and practical aspects of effective communication through reports, letters, and memorandums. Writing Instruction in the Discipline (WID) course. Prerequisite: ENG 280.