Mar 28, 2024  
2010-2011 Academic Catalog 
    
2010-2011 Academic Catalog [Published Catalog]

Rhetoric and Writing Minor


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The Rhetoric and Writing Minor seeks to introduce and advance the knowledge, understanding and value of disciplines of rhetoric and writing at the university. It provides the opportunity for students to study and practice across disciplines of writing, from narrative nonfiction and creative writing, to business and technical writing, to approaches to academic inquiry. It further provides opportunities for students to study how rhetoric drives fields of study across disciplines and to practice this inquiry themselves. The Minor also seeks to articulate, through its courses, its faculty and its activities, the long-term relevance of rhetoric and writing as disciplines at the university.

Program Learning Outcomes

By the end of the Rhetoric and Writing Minor, students will be able to:

  • Develop expertise in rhetoric and writing by learning concepts, contexts and practices relevant to their chosen emphasis
  • Develop an advanced writing style appropriate to this emphasis area
  • Practice sophisticated ethical and critical reflection, including (but not limited to) analysis of genre and discourse appropriate to this emphasis area
  • Evidence advanced awareness of interdisciplinary issues attached to their emphasis
     

Requirements (15 credits):


Students who opt to minor in Rhetoric and Writing must have completed RHET 201 with a minimum grade of B-.

To fulfill the 15 credits for the Rhetoric and Writing Minor, students take:

  • 9 credits in an emphasis area (academic, business/technical or specialized genre),
  • 3 credit hours in a second emphasis area, and
  • 3 credits in any area of their choice

Rhetoric and Writing Minor courses may be double-counted for:

  • Core Curriculum credit at the secondary level
  • Core Curriculum credit at the capstone level

Rhetoric and Writing Minor courses may NOT be double-counted for:

  • RHET Writing requirements in the Core (3-9 credits)
  • Major/Concentration credit

Students who have already taken any of the writing courses below as electives or Core courses (as described above) may count credits retroactively.

 

Course list by emphasis area:
 

A. Academic Writing


Students who select this area of focus will practice and work toward mastery in the several areas of academic writing, including the following: how writing drives the humanities and social sciences, writing and cognitive studies, writing for publication purposes, and a history of argument. They will learn how writing drives thought, genres and the development of many disciplines. They will consider ethical concerns raised through this practice.

Emphasis Outcomes:

  • Learn the role of writing in forming and influencing academic fields of study, the creation of genres, and professional discourses
  • Analyze the relationship between writing and cognition
  • Learn the professional and publication conventions in chosen disciplines of academic writing

B. Business/Technical Writing


Students who select this area of emphasis will practice and work toward professional competency in the fields of business, science and technical communications, including the following: business writing, technical writing, proposal writing, and digital rhetoric. They will read within and practice the conventions of these fields of communication, and will reflect upon ethical and critical standards enforced or called into question by these practices.

Emphasis Outcomes:

  • Describe and analyze norms and conventions in writing for specialized audiences in the fields of business and science/engineering
  • Produce effective and advanced business and science/technical communications

 

C. Writing in the Creative Genres


Students who select this area of emphasis will practice and work toward mastery in several creative genres of writing, including the following: narrative nonfiction, autobiography, travel writing, fiction, poetry, playwriting and children’s literature. They will read within and practice the conventions of these genres, consider ethical concerns raised in the genres, develop critical mastery of the creative genres, and produce a substantial capstone project demonstrating significant growth in writing in a chosen creative genre.

Emphasis Outcomes:

  • Master concepts and practices in creative genres through selected reading and writing
  • Develop into conversant critics in the creative genres, reflecting upon both critical and ethical concerns raised through genre analysis and critical reflection
  • Produce substantial capstone writing demonstrating mastery of concepts and practices in one of the creative genres
  • Learn the professional and publication conventions of their selected genre

Selected Topics and Independent Study


(Depending on ‘topic,’ these courses may fit in any of above ‘emphasis’ areas)

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