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Courses

Minor

The writing minor offers two options: an eclectic selection of writing courses; or, a literary writing focus.

The eclectic option encourages students to learn several kinds of writing according to their interests. This option is open to all students except those pursuing a minor or major in Communication and Rhetoric Studies. The eclectic option consists of five courses beyond Narratives of the Self I and II, one of which may be an internship:

ARC 201 Seminar for Student Tutors (must be taken four times to constitute one writing minor course)

CRS 220 Investigative Writing

CRS 221 Persuasive Writing

CRS 240 Journalism

CRS 340 Writing for Business and the Professions

CRS 401 Internship in Communication and Rhetoric Studies (writing-intensive internship supervised by communication and rhetoric studies faculty member)

ENG 230 Creative Writing

ENG 231 Biography and Autobiography

ENG 330 Writing Poetry

ENG 331 Writing Prose, Fiction, and Nonfiction

ENG 401 Internship in English (writing-intensive internship supervised by English faculty member)

WRI 381 Independent Study in Writing

WRI 391 Special Topics in Writing

A second option is a literary writing focus in which students write poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and other genres that may be offered under Special Topics in Writing or Independent Study in Writing. Students majoring in communication and rhetoric studies may take only this option for the writing minor, provided that no course is used both for the communication and rhetoric studies major and the literary writing option. The writing minor with focus on literary writing consists of five of the following courses, one of which may be an internship:

ENG 230 Creative Writing
ENG 231 Biography and Autobiography
ENG 330 Writing Poetry
ENG 331 Writing Prose, Fiction, and Nonfiction
ENG 401 Internship in English
WRI 381 Independent Study in Writing
WRI 391 Special Topics in Writing

The following courses are offered in Writing:
 


ARC 201. Seminar for Student Tutors 1 hour
Peer tutors at the Academic Resource Center spend two hours per week assisting other students, individually or in groups, with course material, papers, and preparation for examinations. In addition, they participate in support and training meetings with the ARC directors and with instructors of the courses in which they tutor. They discuss how to work with texts in different disciplines, encourage study group members to help each other learn, and foster student engagement with and assimilation of course content. Graded on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory basis. Prerequisites: Permission of the instructor and Associate Provost for Student Achievement.
 
CRS 220. Investigative Writing 4 hours
This expository writing course is designed to develop research and writing skills. Emphasis will be on learning a wide range of library and Internet-based research techniques and purposefully presenting information to a variety of audiences in appropriate format and style. Students will be asked to define their own investigative projects, and to analyze and revise their own writing. This course is recommended for freshmen and sophomores. Prerequisite: COR 101.
 
CRS 221. Persuasive Writing 4 hours
This course is designed to develop sophisticated strategies of persuasion for analyzing and generating arguments responsive to targeted audiences in a variety of contexts, including civic, professional, and academic. Students will learn both classical and contemporary strategies of persuasion. Emphasis will be on presenting clear, coherent, and logical arguments. Students will be asked to define their own projects within assigned contexts. Students will evaluate their own and others’ writing to enable the revision process. This course is open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors only. It is offered in the fall semester. Prerequisites: COR 101 and COR 102.
 
ENG 230. Creative Writing 4 hours
This course is an introduction to writing poetry and prose fiction. The student will be asked to submit substantial written work each week, keep a journal, and read published writers. Much class time will be spent discussing student and published work. Prerequisites: COR 101 and COR 102.
 
ENG 231. Biography and Autobiography 4 hours
This course is an introduction to biographical and autobiographical writing with practice in the personal narrative as well as other forms such as the profile and the interview. Students will submit substantial written work each week and keep a journal. The class will follow a workshop format, discussing the students’ and published work. Prerequisites: COR 101 and COR 102.
 
CRS 240. Journalism 4 hours
This course teaches the fundamentals of journalistic news writing and reporting. From interviews to the Internet, students will learn how to gather information from a variety of sources and write stories using different types of leads, endings, and structures. They will also engage in a critique of today’s journalistic practices. This course is offered in the fall semester. Prerequisites: COR 101 and COR 102.
 
ENG 330. Writing Poetry 4 hours
In weekly assignments students will try free verse and various forms in the effort to discover and to embody more and more truly what they have to say. Much time will be spent reading published poets, responding to student work in class, and trying to generate language that reveals rather than explains intangible "meanings." Prerequisites: COR 101 and COR 102.
 
ENG 331. Writing Prose, Fiction, and Nonfiction 4 hours
Students will get instruction and substantial practice in writing fictional and nonfictional prose which aims at getting what Henry James called "a sense of felt life" onto the page. The class will follow a workshop format with weekly assignments, journal writing, extensive
discussion of student work, and reading of published examples. Prerequisites: COR 101 and COR 102.
 
CRS 340. Writing for Business and the Professions 4 hours
A course for students who have mastered the basic skills and insights of writing and who wish to improve their ability to write clear, concise, persuasive prose designed for audiences in business and the professions. Students are required to write a variety of texts, such as proposals, progress reports, recommendation reports, and manuals. Other elements of the course may include oral presentations. Prerequisite: CRS 220, CRS 221, or permission of the instructor.
 
WRI 381. Independent Study in Writing 1-4 hours
Supervised independent writing project. Prerequisite: Submission of a proposed outline of study that includes a schedule of meetings and assignments approved by the instructor, the division chair, and the Provost and Senior Vice President prior to registration. The student must be pursuing a minor in writing or a major in communication and rhetoric studies.
 
WRI 391. Special Topics in Writing 4 hours
Study of a selected topic in the field of writing, such as Public Relations Writing, Scientific and Technical Writing, Oral History, and The Art of the Essay. The topic will vary from year to year and may be offered by communication and rhetoric studies faculty or English faculty. Prerequisite for special topics taken with communication and rhetoric studies faculty: CRS 101 or permission of the instructor.
 
CRS 401. Internship in Communication and Rhetoric Studies 1-4 hours
An internship is designed to provide a formalized experiential learning opportunity to qualified students. The internship generally requires the student to obtain a faculty supervisor in the relevant field of study, submit a learning agreement, work 30 hours for every hour of academic credit, keep a written journal of the work experience, have regularly scheduled meetings with the faculty supervisor, and write a research paper dealing with some aspect of the internship. An internship for the writing minor must be writing intensive. Written work should total five pages of academic writing for every hour of credit. An extensive list of internships is maintained by the Career Services Office, including opportunities at CNN, Fox 5, WSB-TV, Green Olive Media, and The Atlanta Journal Constitution. Students are strongly encouraged to do multiple internships, but only 4-semester hours can be applied as elective credits to the major. Graded on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory basis. Prerequisites: Permission of the faculty supervisor and qualification for the internship program.
 
ENG 401. Internship in English 1-4 hours
An internship is designed to provide a formalized experiential learning opportunity to qualified students. The internship generally requires the student to obtain a faculty supervisor in the relevant field of study, submit a learning agreement, work 30 hours for every hour of academic credit, keep a written journal of the work experience, have regularly scheduled meetings with the faculty supervisor, and write a research paper dealing with some aspect of the internship. Written work should total five pages of academic writing for every hour of credit. An extensive list of internships is maintained by the Career Services Office, including opportunities at Atlanta Magazine, The Knight Agency, and Peachtree Publishers. Graded on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory basis. Prerequisites: Permission of the faculty supervisor and qualification for the internship program.
 
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