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[Link]: IU School of Liberal Arts Course Browser [Ad]: 300-level Writing and Literacy Courses

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Writing and Literacy Courses

 

W210 Literacy and Public Life: An introduction to the uses of literacy in public and civic discourse, with connections made to theories of writing and professional prospects for writers; serves as the required gateway course for the Concentration in Writing and Literacy and as an exploration of this concentration for other English majors and students considering the possibility of an English major.

 

W231 Professional Writing Skills: Focuses on expository writing for the student whose career requires preparation of reports, proposals, and analytical papers. Emphasis on clear and direct objective writing and on investigation of an original topic written in report form, including a primary research project. Evaluation is based on student projects.

 

W262 Style and Voice in Writing: Voice pulls readers into a writer’s world, the "sound" of that writer’s voice "speaking" to readers. This course focuses on recognizing, developing, and sharpening your written voice. But how do you recognize that voice? What are its characteristics? How do you challenge yourself to experiment with language? How do you adapt to the plethora of writing you do as a student, in the workplace, or on your own, while maintaining the unique stamp that is your own? This course examines  a variety of published authors’ works, identifying the stylistic choices that shaped those works, thereby building awareness of the variety of stylistic choices available to you as a writer. You will apply that awareness to your own writing, and examine the decision making processes that equip you to "voice" your ideas in vivid and concise language, "speaking" on the page in your unique voice.

 

W301 Writing Fiction: An intermediate course in the theory and practice of fiction writing with seminar study of relevant materials and criticism of student work in class and conference. May be repeated once for credit.

 

W302 Screenwriting: A practical course in basic techniques of writing for film and television. Covers the essentials of dramatic structure, story development, characterization and theme, scene construction, dialogue, and, briefly, the practicalities of working as a screenwriter today.

 

W303 Writing Poetry: An intermediate course in the theory and practice of poetry writing with seminar study of relevant materials and criticism of student work in class and conference. May be repeated once for credit.

 

W305 Writing Creative Nonficiton: An intermediate course in the theory and practice of creative nonfiction prose, with seminar study of relevant materials and workshop discussion of student work in progress. May be repeated once for credit.

 

W310 Language and the Study of Writing: A course about writing using linguistic perspectives. Some of the topics discussed are writing systems and their history, a comparison of speaking and writing, the analysis of texts and their structure, the writing process and its development, and orality and literacy.

 

W313 The Art of Fact: Writing Nonfiction Prose: Students will read and analyze professional and student work as they prepare to practice the art of fact by combining the tools of a researcher with the craft of a novelist. The final portfolio includes a stylistic analysis of the student’s and others’ nonfiction works as well as two illustrated nonfiction texts based on the student’s primary and secondary research.

 

W315 Writing for the Web: Introduces students to new forms of writing beyond word processing and desktop publishing made possible by computers-hypertext, electronic mail, and computer conferencing-and explores what impact these new forms have on literacy skills for writers and readers of such computer-delivered texts.

 

W320 Writing in the Arts and Sciences: Introduces students to scholarly reading and writing in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences, focusing on the similarities and differences in the ways academic writers share knowledge in their respective fields. Using as a course text a set of scholarly articles and book chapters, the course examines how writers in different disciplines define problems, how they investigate these problems, and how they report their findings.

 

W331 Business and Administrative Writing: W331 teaches students the rhetorical principles and practices necessary for producing effective writing and collaborative projects in professional contexts. Students will learn to plan, produce, and mange short- and long-term writing projects, gaining experience with various writing technologies. This course emphasizes  the challenges of meeting readers’ needs while simultaneously representing the best interests of the writer and his or her employer. W331 focuses on writing ethically and responsibly as an employee and as a member of society. By the end of the semester, students should see a marked improvement in their writing and level of professionalism. Completion of W231 Professional Writing Skills is strongly encouraged before taking W331.

 

W365 Theories and Practices of Editing: Instruction and practice in the mechanical, stylistic, and substantive editing of English nonfiction prose, from a wide variety of genres and on a wide variety of subjects.

 

W366 Written Englishes: Living Cultural Realities: Is standard written English fixed and immutable or a living language variety? This course explores the definition, history, and politics of standard written English, the influence of home and community languages, and the uses and representation of linguistic diversity in both fiction and non-fiction texts.

 

W390 Topics in Writing (as appropriate): Topics will vary each time this course is offered, and the department will specify which area of the concentration in Writing and Literacy each offering will count toward. May be repeated once for credit.

 

W396 Writing Fellows Seminar: Focuses on the writing of IUPUI students. Emphasis on questioning, strategies, problem solving, and self-analysis. Apply in spring for fall enrollment.

 

W400 Issues in the Teaching of Writing: Focuses on the content of rhetoric and composition and considers fundamental theoretical and practical issues in the teaching of writing. Reviews rhetorical and compositional principles that influence writing instruction, textbook selection, and curriculum development.

 

W401 Advanced Fiction Writing: Study and practice in the writing of fiction. Analysis of examples from contemporary literature accompanies class criticism and discussion. May be repeated once for credit.

 

W403 Advanced Poetry Writing: Study and practice in the writing of poetry. Analysis of examples from contemporary poets accompanies class criticism and discussion. May be repeated once for credit.

 

W412 Technology and Literacy: Literacy and technology have multifaceted relationships with each other. This course explores the effects of technologies ranging from clay tablets to the printing press to computers on literate practices and the teaching of reading and writing. It prepares students to think critically about the possibilities and limitations associated with different technologies and their impact on literacy over time, and to analyze educational uses of technology connected with literacy.

 

W426 Writing Nonfiction for Popular and Professional Publication: "I’ve been writing constantly for years but I don’t have any idea how to make the transition from academic to workplace writing."  Sound familiar? If so, let the experiences of W426 help you to integrate and apply the academic writing skills you have gained during your undergraduate work in multiple disciplines. Write for Liberal Arts publications to gain experience and writing samples for your job portfolio. And, meet an array of professionals who bring their experience and expertise to the classroom to help you understand the current job market for students with strong writing skills.

 

G204 Rhetorical Issues in Grammar and UsageG310 Social Speech Patterns: An introduction to English grammar and usage that studies the rhetorical impact of grammatical structures such as noun phrases, prepositional phrases, and different sentence patterns. This course considers language trends and issues, the role of correctness in discourse communities, and the relations between writing in context and descriptive and prescriptive grammars and usage guides.

 

ANTH L300 Language and Culture: This course explores the relationships between language and culture, focusing on research methodology and surveying various theoretical frameworks. Topics to be discussed include linguistic relativity the Sapir- Whorf Hypothesis, ethnographies of communication, interview techniques, and methods of data collection and analysis.

 

ANTH L401 Language, Power, and Gender: This course investigates sociocultural aspects of language use, focusing on the interaction of power and gender with language. Topics include differences in men’s and women’s language use, discourse patterns and power relationships, and identity and language use. To what extent does the language we speak sustain the dominance of certain groups in our society?  

 

COMM R310 Rhetoric, Society, and Culture: Development of theory of oral discourse; the influence of public address; historical and current problems in rhetoric of conflict, in freedom of speech, and in propaganda and persuasion.

 

COMM R350 Womenspeak: American Feminist Rhetoric: To understand the ideological development of American feminist rhetoric, we examine: 1 speeches by well-known ‘Great Women’ from the 1600s to the present; 2 non-traditional rhetorical forms of ‘ordinary women,’ including diaries, fiction, photography, reading groups; 3 intersections among race, class, ethnicity, sexual preference, and gender in public discourse.

 

TCM 32000  Written Communication in Science and Industry: Analysis of current writing practices in technology and science, especially in organizational settings. Practice in designing and preparing reports for a variety of purposes and audiences.

 

TCM 34000 Correspondence in Business and Industry: The development and application of strategies and skills for writing letters for business and industry in technology and engineering. Applications may include resumes and letters of application, informational and persuasive letters, and in-house memoranda.

 

TCM 35000 Visual Elements of Technical Documents: Methods and principles of illustrating technical reports and manuals, the role of the technical writer in the company, basics of visual design, visuals for manuals, visualization of technical data, and modern technology available to technical writers.

 

TCM 42500 Managing Document Quality: Examines and applies principles of creating technical publications with a focus on quality management of the process. Students will create effective publications by identifying and intervening at crucial points in the documentation cycle - planning, researching, designing, drafting, reviewing, testing, editing, and revising.

 

TCM 45000 Research Approaches for Technical and Professional Communication: Examines quantitative and qualitative research techniques practiced by professionals working in technical and business communication. Explores both primary (i.e., field) and secondary (i.e., library) research approaches for learning about content, audience, and publication design.

 

E398 Internship in English: A supervised internship in the use of English in a workplace. Apply during semester before desired internship.

 

E450 Capstone Seminar: This senior capstone for all English majors integrates students’ undergraduate study through writing and reading projects, faculty and student presentations, and creation of capstone portfolios. Students apply linguistic, literary, and rhetorical knowledge in culminating projects and learning portfolios. The course looks back at accomplishments and forward to postgraduation planning.

 

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