Writing Minor

Writing Minor Requirements

The Writing Minor is designed to provide students with concentrated study of and practice
in writing, language, and rhetoric. The minor is most appropriate for students entering
writing-intensive careers such as journalism, business, marketing, law, publishing, editing,
education, and public relations or for students interested in enhancing their writing, analytic, and communication skills.

*Note: Although it is possible to count one creative writing course toward the minor, this is not a creative writing minor.

Students who participate in the minor will:

  • gain confidence as writers
  • develop flexible strategies and skills for writing and communicating in various professions and contexts
  • engage writing as a complex, situated, and socially consequential practice
  • improve their analytic, research, and communication skills
  • strengthen their capacity to understand, critique, and craft arguments
  • examine various ethical, material, theoretical, and practical dimensions of textual production, circulation, delivery, and consumption

Requirements:

  • 25 credit hours at the 200-level or above, of which 15 must be at the 300-level or above
    • 15 credits from approved list of courses in academic, professional, and creative writing
    • 10 credits from approved list of courses in theory, history, and design
    • No more than five credits may be counted from Creative Writing or from courses outside the English department

Curriculum:

Academic, Professional, and Creative Writing (15 credits)

ENGL 281 Intermediate Expository Writing
ENGL 282 Multi modal composition
*ENGL 283 Beginning Verse Writing
*ENGL 284 Beginning Short Story Writing
*ENGL 285 Writers on Writing
ENGL 297 Intermediate Interdisciplinary Writing – Humanities
ENGL 298 Intermediate Interdisciplinary Writing - Social Sciences
ENGL 299 Intermediate Interdisciplinary Writing - Natural Sciences
ENGL 381 Advanced Expository Writing
ENGL 382 Writing for the Web
ENGL 481 Special Studies in Expository Writing
*COM 359 Writing for Mass Media
*COM 362 Community Journalism (News Lab)
*COM 459 Narrative Journalism
*COM 460 Special Reporting Topics
*COM 464 Writing with Voice

* Other writing courses may be considered by petition

Theory, History, and Design (10 credits)

ENGL 206 Rhetoric in Everyday Life
ENGL 270 Language and Society
ENGL 306 Introduction to Rhetoric
ENGL 369 Research Methods in Language and Rhetoric
ENGL 370 English Language Study
ENGL 372 World Englishes
ENGL 373 History of the English Language
ENGL 374 The Language of Literature
ENGL 375 Rhetorical Genre Theory and Practice
ENGL 471 Theory and Practice of Teaching Writing
ENGL 472 Language Learning
ENGL 473 Current Developments in English Studies
ENGL 478 Language and Social Policy
ENGL 479 Language Variation and Language Policy in North America

*A maximum of five credits may be applied from Creative Writing or from classes
outside the English department.

* 20 credits must be taken in residence at the UW

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