Course Descriptions
Professional Writing Program
Our professional writing courses are offered in four different formats: in-person, hybrid, online synchronous and online asynchronous. The learning objectives listed below apply to all three courses.
Learning Objectives
- Students will be able to write documents that address purposes, audiences, and conventions of professional contexts:
- ENG 331: industrial, governmental, and applied research environments
- ENG 332: business, nonprofit, and public organizations
- ENG 333: the scientific community and its constituencies
- Students will be able to recognize and construct effective arguments for a variety of audiences and to adapt these to the formats and conventions of professional documents and genres.
- Students will be able to apply principles of document design and incorporate visual elements in order to meet the needs of different professional audiences.
- Students will be able to construct presentations appropriate for professional audiences and to apply the principles of effective oral communication.
- Students will be able to communicate effectively using electronic media appropriate to their professional fields.
- Students will be able to participate effectively in the writing process by planning, drafting, reviewing, revising, and critiquing professional documents.
- Students will be able to collaborate effectively in teams to create, review, and revise documents.
- Students will be able to analyze and justify the persuasive strategies and professional conventions they use in their own writing.
- Students will be able to describe ethical implications of communication situations in professional contexts.
- Students will be able to locate, analyze, and use information appropriate for selected professional documents and communication tasks.
All three ENG 33X courses require students to produce at least 20 pages of text during the course of the semester, deliver one oral presentation and participate in one collaborative assignment.
ENG 331: Communication for Engineering and Technology
Written communication in industrial and technical organizations, emphasizing internal communication with managers and technical personnel and including external communication with regulators, vendors, and clients. Intensive practice in writing; relationship of writing to oral and visual communication. For students in engineering and other primarily technological curricula.
Typically, students majoring in the following fields enroll in ENG 331 (note that this is not a complete list):
- Aerospace Engineering
- Chemical Engineering
- Civil Engineering
- Computer Engineering
- Computer Science
- Electrical Engineering
- Industrial Engineering
- Mechanical Engineering
- Textile Engineering
- Textile Technology
ENG 332: Communication for Business and Management
Written communication in business and public organizations, including both internal communication [such as instructions, policies, management reports] and external communication with clients, vendors, and publics. Intensive practice in writing; relationship of writing to oral and visual communication. For students in business and management-related programs.
Typically, students majoring in the following fields enroll in ENG 332 (note that this is not a complete list):
- Accounting
- Business Management
- Economic
- Textile and Apparel Management
ENG 333: Communication for Science and Research
Written communication in scientific and research contexts, emphasizing relationship between research and writing in problem formulation, interpretation of results, and support and acceptance of research. Intensive practice in writing; relationship of writing to oral and visual communication. For students who plan careers in scientific research.
Typically, students majoring in the following fields enroll in ENG 333 (note that this is not a complete list):
- Biochemistry
- Biological Sciences
- Chemistry
- Environmental Sciences
- Geology
- Meteorology
- Natural Resources
- Physics
- Zoology