Minor in Professional Writing

To complete a minor in professional writing, students must take 18 credit hours from the list below. Students should consult with the professional writing program advisor in order to tailor the program to their specific interests.

• WRIT 2400 Introduction to Professional Writing                  3 hours

15 credit hours from the following (with no more than 9 credit hours from any single prefix, with the exception of WRIT):

• ADVT 2910 Writing for Advertising                                          3 hours
• ANSO 2030 Culture and Communication                                  3 hours
• ENGL 2150 Creative Writing: Poetry                                        3 hours
• ENGL 2160 Creative Writing: Fiction                                       3 hours
• ENGL 2170 Creative Writing: Playwriting                              3 hours
• ENGL 3450 Reading and Writing Autobiography                  3 hours
• ENGL 4170 Creative Writing: Nonfiction                                3 hours
• ENGL 4200 Contemporary Linguistics                                     3 hours
• JOUR 1030 Fundamentals of Reporting                                    3 hours
• JOUR 2140 Advanced Reporting                                                 3 hours
• JOUR 2170 Copyreading/News Editing                                    3 hours
• JOUR 3130 Feature Writing                                                          3 hours
• JOUR 3150 Topics in Modern Media (Film Criticism,
  Editorial Writing, Zines and the Art of Self Publishing, Entertainment Journalism, and others upon approval
  of English Dept.)                                                                         3 hours
• JOUR 4170 Investigative Journalism                                        3 hours
• JOUR 4380 Magazine Journalism                                               3 hours
• MEDC 1050 Introduction to Media Writing                             3 hours
• SPCM 3600 Rhetoric                                                                      3 hours
• PBRL 2920 Writing for Public Relations                                 3 hours
• SCPT 2900 Scriptwriting                                                              3 hours
• SCPT 3500 Writing Screenplays for Film                                3 hours
• SCPT 4400 Television Scriptwriting                                         3 hours
• SCPT 4500 Advanced Scriptwriting                                           3 hours
• WRIT 2072 Writing for Change                                                  3 hours
• WRIT 2090 Writing in the Workplace                                       3 hours
• WRIT 3000 Professional Writing Practicum                        1-3 hours
• WRIT 3100 Report and Proposal Writing                                 3 hours
• WRIT 3200 Technical Writing                                                     3 hours
• WRIT 4000 Topics in Professional Writing          3 hours

Drama Studies Minor in London

The drama studies minor is designed for students who wish to take advantage of the rich opportunities for the study of the dramatic arts at our London campus.   The London campus offers a number of excellent drama courses as well as the opportunity to see some of the best live theatre in the world.

Certificate Program: Professional Writing

(18 required credit hours)

The certificate program in professional writing is open both to undergraduate students at Webster and to members of the larger community, including those who already have bachelor's degrees. To receive the certificate in professional writing, students must complete 18 credit hours as specified below with a grade of C or better in each course (when applicable). Students are encouraged to consult with the professional writing program advisor in order to tailor the program to their specific interests.

• WRIT 2400 Introduction to Professional Writing                  3 hours

  6 credit hours from the following:

• ADVT 2910 Writing for Advertising                                          3 hours
• ENGL 2150 Creative Writing: Poetry                                        3 hours
• ENGL 2160 Creative Writing: Fiction                                       3 hours
• ENGL 2170 Creative Writing: Playwriting                              3 hours
• JOUR 1030 Fundamentals of Reporting                                    3 hours
• JOUR 2140 Advanced Reporting                                                 3 hours
• JOUR 2170 Copyreading/News Editing                                    3 hours
• MEDC 1050 Introduction to Media Writing                             3 hours
• PBRL 2920 Writing for Public Relations                                 3 hours
• WRIT 2072 Writing for Change                                                  3 hours
• WRIT 2090 Writing in the Workplace                                       3 hours

6 credit hours from the following:

• ENGL 3450 Reading and Writing Autobiography                  3 hours
• ENGL 4170 Creative Writing: Nonfiction                                3 hours
• JOUR 3130 Feature Writing                                                          3 hours
• JOUR 3150 Topics in Modern Media (Film Criticism,
  Editorial Writing, Zines and the Art of Self Pub-lishing, Entertainment Journalism, and others upon approval of
  English Dept.)                                                                              3 hours
• JOUR 4170 Investigative Journalism                                        3 hours
• JOUR 4380 Magazine Journalism                                               3 hours
• SCPT 2900 Scriptwriting                                                              3 hours
• SCPT 3500 Writing Screenplays for Film                                3 hours
• SCPT 4400 Television Scriptwriting                                         3 hours
• SCPT 4500 Advanced Scriptwriting                                           3 hours
• WRIT 3000 Professional Writing Practicum                       1-3 hours
• WRIT 3100 Report and Proposal Writing                                 3 hours
• WRIT 3200 Technical Writing                                                     3 hours
• WRIT 4000 Topics in Professional Writing
  (all topics except Gender and Communication)                  3 hours

3 credit hours from the following:

• ANSO 2030 Culture and Communication                                  3 hours
• ENGL 4200 Contemporary Linguistics                                     3 hours
• SPCM 3600 Rhetoric                                                                      3 hours
• WRIT 4000 Topics in Professional Writing:
  Gender and Communication                                                      3 hours
• WRIT 4600 Professional Writing Portfolio Review         0 hours

Portfolio Review for Certificate in Professional Writing

Students who begin the certificate in professional writing in the 2007-08 academic year or later must submit a portfolio in order to graduate. Students will enroll in WRIT 4600: Professional Writing Portfolio Review (0 credit hours) in their final semester of undergraduate study.   Students must pass WRIT 4600: Professional Writing Portfolio Review in order to receive the certificate in professional writing. Portfolios must be submitted to professional writing program coordinator by April 1 for May graduates, and by November 1 for December graduates.  

The portfolio will be used as a means of assessing the knowledge and skills the student developed in the course of pursuing the professional writing certificate and will also help the English Department assess the quality and success of the certificate.  

The portfolio will be assessed using the learning objectives for the professional writing program:

Upon completion of the program, students should:

• Be able to analyze the purpose, audience, and context of a specific writing task and use that analysis to complete the task effectively.
• Be able to plan and write collaboratively with others.
• Be able to critique writing (their own or others') based on rhetorical effectiveness as well as usage and style.
• Be able to learn and adapt to the writing conventions, different genres, and requirements of various nonacademic rhetorical contexts.
• Understand how cultural context influences the way language works.

English Course Listings

ENGL 1030 Introduction to Literature (3)

Introduces the perceptive analysis of a literary text. Studies poetry, fiction, and drama. ENGL majors who have not been taught techniques of close reading and analysis of poetry, fiction, and drama should take this course before registering for ENGL 2020, ENGL 2030, or ENGL 2040.

ENGL 1050 Introduction to American Literature (3)

Focuses on major themes, forms, and styles as they are represented in American literature. Emphasizes the contribution of selected major authors from the beginnings to the twentieth century. Not offered on the St. Louis campus.

ENGL 1060 Protest Literature (3)

Covers works that have a heavily sociological import and directly attack a specific social ill. Emphasizes both the literary values of the work and the social ill that inspired the work. Each section of this course focuses on only one society during one period.

ENGL 1100 Comparative European Literature (3)

Covers major themes, forms, and styles as they are represented in the various European literatures. Emphasizes the contribution of selected major authors, from the Middle Ages to the twentieth century. Not offered on the St. Louis campus.

ENGL 1510 Major Dramatists I (3)

Studies the classics of Western dramatic literature from the Greeks to Restoration. Offered for 16 weeks only.

ENGL 1520 Major Dramatists II (3)

Studies the classics of Western dramatic literature from Ibsen to the present. Offered for 16 weeks only.

ENGL 2020 Major British Writers I (3)

Studies significant works by key authors, with emphasis on continuity of English literature and its relation to its historical moment. Required of majors. Offered for 16 weeks only. ENGL majors who have not been taught techniques of close reading and analysis of literature, especially poetry, should take ENGL 1030 before regis-tering for this course.

ENGL 2030 Major British Writers II (3)

Continues ENGL 2020. Required of majors. Offered for 16 weeks only. ENGL majors who have not been taught techniques of close reading and analysis of literature, especially poetry, should take ENGL 1030 before registering for this course.

ENGL 2035 History of the Novel (3)

Studies significant works by important British novelists of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries with an emphasis on the continuity of British literature and its relationship to the historical moment.

ENGL 2040 Major U.S. Writers (3)

Studies significant works by key authors, with some emphasis on competing perspectives that shape U.S. litera-ture--race, gender, region. Required of majors. Offered for 16 weeks only. ENGL majors who have not been taught techniques of close reading and analysis of literature, especially poetry, should take ENGL 1030 before registering for this course.

ENGL 2086 ContemporaryMultiethnic Literature of the United States

Explores a range of texts by contemporary U.S., writers of varying ethnic/cultural backgrounds to discuss issues of ethnicity, race, naming, identity, and power relations in the United States.

ENGL 2110 Perspectives (3)

ENGL 2150 Creative Writing: Poetry (3)

Writing that explores the essential components of poems. Some work on an individual basis through conference with the instructor. May be repeated for credit with permission of the instructor.

ENGL 2160 Creative Writing: Fiction (3)

Writing in various forms of fiction. Some work on an individual basis through conferences with the instructor. May be repeated for credit with permission of the instructor.

ENGL 2170 Creative Writing: Playwriting (3)

Writing that explores the essential components of drama. Some work on an individual basis through conferences with the instructor as well as workshop readings of student work. May be repeated for credit with the permission of the instructor.

ENGL 2180 Creative Writing: Nonfiction

A writing course for students interested in the essay form. Studies a wide variety of contemporary essays as models for student writing, focusing on voice, form, and audience. May be repeated for credit with permission of the instructor.

ENGL 2200 Introduction to English Literature (3)

Focuses on major themes, forms, and styles as they are represented in the literature of Great Britain. Emphasizes the contribution of selected major authors, from Chaucer to the twentieth century. Not offered on the St. Louis campus.

ENGL 2210 Literature into Film (3)

Concentrates on works of literature that have been transferred to film, with the focus on both literature and film. May be repeated for credit if content differs. May be counted once for credit in emphasis.

ENGL 2250 Literary London (3)

Explores the works of writers who lived in or wrote about London. Among the authors discussed are Chaucer, Samuel Pepys, James Boswell, Virginia Woolf, Charles Dickens, and Iris Murdock. Visits to relevant museum and historical sites are organized when appropriate. Offered at London campus only.

ENGL 2300 Worlds of Romance (3)

Explores romance texts from the Middle Ages to the twentieth century. Examines the distinctive features of the romance genre and includes medieval romances, gothic novels, and science fiction film. Offered for 16 weeks only.

ENGL 3030 Topics in Poetry (3)

Examines poetry from the perspective of the writer, focusing on problems of technique and craft and how they are solved. Prerequisite: ENGL 2150 or permission of the instructor. May be repeated for credit if content differs.

ENGL 3040 Topics in Fiction (3)

Examines fiction from the perspective of the writer, focusing on problems of technique and craft and how they are solved. Prerequisite: ENGL 2160 or permission of the instructor. May be repeated for credit if content differs.

ENGL 3050 Topics in Drama (3)

Examines drama from the perspective of the writer, focusing on problems of technique and craft and how they are solved. Prerequisite: ENGL 2170 or permission of the instructor. May be repeated for credit if content differs.

ENGL 3080 Creative Writing: Translation (3)

Conducted as a writer's workshop, designed to sharpen awareness of the translator's own language, namely English. There is no foreign language requirement. Prerequisite: sophomore standing or above. May be repeated for credit.

ENGL 3100 Modern Drama (3)

Studies selected themes, genres, and playwrights, from Ibsen to Brecht. Prerequisite: 6 credit hours of English or permission of the instructor.

ENGL 3130 Contemporary Drama (3)

Studies selected themes, genres, and playwrights, from Brecht to the present. Prerequisite: 6 credit hours of English or permission of the instructor.

ENGL 3140 Women Create Women in Literature (3)

Presents literature by women about women of many kinds and varying approaches. Selections will span the historical period from Jane Austen to the present. Prerequisite: sophomore standing or above. Offered for 16 weeks only.

ENGL 3150 Men Create Women in Literature (3)

Studies female characters who have been created by male authors. Examples chosen from major writers. Places emphasis on the ways in which male attitudes toward women have played a role in the creation of these women. Offered for 16 weeks only.

ENGL 3160 Advanced Creative Writing (2-4)

Prerequisite: portfolio review by the instructor prior to registration. In addition to the portfolio review, students must have taken ENGL 2150, ENGL 2160, or ENGL 3010. This class demands a very high level of commitment and no small amount of proven ability. May be repeated for credit with permission of the instructor. Offered only in St. Louis.

ENGL 3190 Comedy and Satire (3)

Introduces the patterns characteristic of comedy and satire. Deals with the genres of fiction and drama. Prerequisite: sophomore standing or above. Offered for 16 weeks only.

ENGL 3210 Tragic Themes (3)

Explores the development of tragedy in Western literature and asks if tragedy is possible as a literary form in contemporary art. Offered for 16 weeks only.

ENGL 3300 20th Century American Poetry (3)

Examines the evolution of aesthetic sensibilities in shaping distinctly American poetry in English. Focus is on the particularly fertile midcentury stomping ground for the disparate and overlapping concerns of the Objectivists, Projectivists, N.Y.C. Schoolers, Confessionalists, Deep Imagists, Free Versers, and others.

ENGL 3400 The Short Story (3)

Explores the development of the short story, its conventions, genres, and innovations.

ENGL 3450 Reading and Writing Autobiography (3)

Combines the study of various kinds of autobiographical writings, with intensive practice in first-person writing. Assumes that studying other people's work can help us write more perceptively about ourselves. Writing includes journals, short exercises, and longer essays.

ENGL 3500 Contexts (3)

Deals with works, ideas, and genres in their historical, social, and/or philosophical contexts. May be repeated for credit if content differs.

ENGL 3900 Myth and Classical Literature (3)

Deals with Greek and Roman myths, the Iliad, the Odyssey, and the Aeneid. Occasional pieces of later literature are introduced to show the continuing life of the ancient images of human experience. Prerequisite: 6 credit hours of English or permission of the instructor. Offered for 16 weeks only.

ENGL 4000 Myth and Modern Literature (3)

Examines twentieth-century writers who have reinvented human life from shards of traditional myths, mythic structures, and the once resonant assurances they provided. Prerequisite: 6 credit hours of English or permission of the instructor. Offered for 16 weeks only.

ENGL 4010 Art and the Artist (3)

Organized around works that focus on aesthetic questions and on the artist's own development, self-awareness, and relationships with individual persons and with the wider culture. Prerequisite: 6 credit hours of English. Offered for 16 weeks only.

ENGL 4020 Heroic Themes (3)

Through a study of selected epic works from the Middle Ages on (such as Spenser's The Faerie Queene and Milton's Paradise Lost), this course explores the concept of the hero as it evolves in Western literature. Offered for 16 weeks only. Prerequisite: 6 credit hours of English or permission of the instructor.

ENGL 4030 Literature of Latin America (3)

Concentrates on the major authors and themes of the literature of Mexico and Central and South America and the ways these works reflect the artistic, political, and religious ideas of the regions.

ENGL 4150 Shakespeare I (3)

Studies plays from the early part of Shakespeare's career, emphasizing the histories and comedies. Includes discussion of historical and social contexts, genre, and staging. Prerequisite: 6 credit hours of English or theatre arts and sophomore standing or above.

ENGL 4160 Shakespeare II (3)

Studies plays from the latter part of Shakespeare's career, emphasizing the tragedies and romances. Includes discussion of historical and social contexts, genre, and staging. Prerequisite: 6 credit hours of English or theatre arts and sophomore standing or above.

ENGL 4190 Historical Linguistics: History of the English Language (3)

Studies the development of the language, including the impact of political and cultural events on that development. Offered for 16 weeks only.

ENGL 4200 Contemporary Linguistics (3)

Surveys topics such as language and the brain, animals and language learning, slang, regional dialects, how dictionaries are made, and modern grammar. Offered for 16 weeks only.

ENGL 4400 Advanced Writing Workshop (3)

Designed for creative writing students who have already exhibited a high degree of accomplishment and commitment. Admission to it requires a preliminary portfolio review and informal interview. May be repeated for credit with permission of the instructor. Offered only in St. Louis.

ENGL 4500 Literary Criticism (3)

Emphasizes the continuity of questions and answers in the history of literary criticism and examines the relationship of the kinds of emphases put on literary values to social, political, and economic concerns. Readings range from Plato to deconstruction, but the approach of the course is toward the problems of criticism, not toward the mastery of texts as ends in themselves. Prerequisites: junior standing; 12 credit hours of English, or permission of the instructor. Offered for 16 weeks only.

ENGL 4600 Portfolio Review (0)

A portfolio of student work in English to be turned in during the final semester of study in the department. Required of all English majors.

ENGL 4610 Reading Course (1-5)

Prerequisites: usually junior standing and filing an official form. May be repeated for credit if content differs.

ENGL 4900 Senior Honors Thesis (1)

An independent project required of all English honors students. Prerequisite: permission of instructor.

Writing Course Listings

WRIT 1000 Basic Composition (3)

Emphasizes basic skills in composition: organization, sentence structure, grammar, and mechanics such as spelling and punctuation. Assignments stress writing, revising, and editing papers. Designed to help prepare stu-dents for college-level writing. Does not count toward ENGL major.

WRIT 1010 Composition (3)

Provides a variety of experiences in both formal and informal writing styles. Emphasizes increased skill regarding mechanics, cogency, or liveliness. Prerequisite: students who have registered for WRIT 1000 must have passed it in order to take WRIT 1010. Does not count toward ENGL major.

WRIT 1020 Advanced Composition (3)

Continuation of WRIT 1010. Prerequisite: WRIT 1010. Not offered on the St. Louis campus. Does not count toward ENGL major.

WRIT 2000 Advanced Composition (3)

Offers further practice in writing for those who want or need more improvement in composition after WRIT 1010. Prerequisite: WRIT 1010 or the equivalent. May be repeated for credit. Does not count toward ENGL major.

WRIT 2072 Writing for Change (3)

Students will learn the research and writing skills necessary to work for change as consumers, citizens, and activists. The course will emphasize how to rhetorically analyze a writing situation and then plan and craft an effective message; specific writing assignments could include complaint letters, letters to the editor and to elected officials, position papers on controversial issues, and proposals addressing community problems. Students will engage in frequent peer workshops to discuss drafts of each other's writing.

WRIT 2090 Writing in the Workplace (3)

Students will improve overall communication skills while learning the basic forms and conventions of workplace writing. Assignments will include memos and letters responding to a variety of rhetorical situations (e.g., informative, persuasive, negative), job application letters and résumés, a short report, and an oral presentation. The course will emphasize the planning and drafting process and include peer response workshops.

WRIT 2100 Methods of Research (3)

Students learn research and writing skills necessary to produce the extended research paper. Prerequisite: WRIT 1010. Not offered on the St. Louis campus. Does not count toward ENGL major.

WRIT 2400 Introduction to Professional Writing (3)

Provides an introduction to a variety of types of professional writing while also reinforcing writing and research skills necessary for professional writers. Areas covered could include creative nonfiction writing, feature writing, editing, proposal writing, writing for the Web, and technical writing. Students will practice the forms of writing as well as investigate what is necessary to pursue a career in selected areas.

WRIT 3000 Professional Writing Practicum (1-3)

Provides an internship experience in the areas of business writing, technical writing, and publication. Students develop their internship with the assistance of Career Services. May be repeated if the nature of the experience differs.

WRIT 3100 Report and Proposal Writing (3)

Students will learn how to research, plan, and write reports and proposals, including grant proposals, for a range of organizations, audiences, and purposes. The course will emphasize peer response workshops and revision.

WRIT 3200 Technical Writing (3)

Students will learn principles and strategies for communicating technical information, including audience analysis; techniques for gathering, interpreting, and presenting information; and appropriate styles and formats. Assignments may include designing instruction manuals and Web pages, writing technical reports, designing page layouts, integrating graphics, and creating effective oral presentations. The course will include some lengthy and involved writing projects and may involve a project for an outside "client." Prerequisite: junior standing or above or permission of instructor.

WRIT 4000 Topics in Professional Writing (3)

Covers specialized topics in professional writing such as Editing and Publishing, Writing for Nonprofit Organizations, and Writing on Nature and Environment. Prerequisite: junior standing or above or permission of instructor. May be repeated for credit if content differs.

WRIT 4400 Advanced Workshop in Professional Writing (3)

Designed for students in their senior year of study, this course will challenge students to integrate and apply the array of skills and knowledge they have acquired through previous communication and writing-related coursework and experiences. Simultaneously, it will professionalize students by allowing them each to explore a chosen branch of professional writing in significant depth. Prerequisite: senior standing or permission of instructor.

WRIT 4600 Professional Writing Portfolio Review (0)