Rhetoric & Professional Writing

The Rhetoric and Professional Writing track (RPW) prepares students to write persuasively and effectively in public and professional settings. We emphasize experiential learning opportunities, such as client-based class projects and internships, and offer students interdisciplinary and collaborative experiences that are important for a wide range of professional environments. The track prepares students to be informed, responsible participants in civic affairs and can lead to employment in commercial and non-profit organizations or graduate work in professional writing.

Requirements

English Major: Rhetoric and Professional Writing Requirements Checklist
This electronic requirement checklist can be completed and used during advising sessions or utilized to track the progress toward your degree.

A minimum of 36 credit hours is required, with at least 21 hours in the chosen track.
Only courses listed on this checklist count toward the major. If you wish to substitute
other courses, you must submit a Petition to Substitute a Course before taking the course.
English Composition (ENGL 1001) is the prerequisite required before any coursework is
completed.
Although not required, it is highly recommended to complete the composition sequence
(ENGL 2089: Intermediate Composition or equivalent) prior to beginning coursework.
No credit toward the English Major is earned for 1000 or 2000 level composition
courses.

Core Courses for All English Majors

Reading & Research

ENGL 2100 Ways of Reading Literature

Writing Foundations (choose one)

ENGL 3076 Writing With Style
ENGL 3046 Modern English Grammar

Culture & Diversity (choose one)

ENGL 2025 Catholic Themes in Literature
ENGL 2026 Introduction to Disability Literature
ENGL 2028 Theater & Performance Studies
ENGL 2029 Literature and Gender
ENGL 2030 Lit. & Environment
ENGL 2031 Film & Environment
ENGL 2032 Ecocriticism
ENGL 2041 21st Century American Drama
ENGL 2045 Queer Literatures
ENGL 2051 Outrageous Writings by Women
ENGL 2054 Women’s Literature
ENGL 2056 Holocaust Literature
ENGL 2073 Writing for Justice
ENGL 2074 Social Media & Society
ENGL 2080 Ethnic Literatures of the U.S.
ENGL 2083 African American Literature Survey I
ENGL 2084 African American Literature Survey II
ENGL 2093 Cross Cultural Communication
ENGL 2130 Study Abroad Topics in English
ENGL 2141 Introduction to American Ethnic Literature
ENGL 2142 Topics in American Ethnic Literature
ENGL 2144 Social Media for Social Justice & Activism
ENGL 2161 Black Women Writers
ENGL 2179 Modern Asian Fiction
ENGL 2193 Intro. to Environmental Writing
ENGL 3049 Creative Writing & Social Change
ENGL 3079 Creative Writing and the Environment
ENGL 3081 Romanticism & the Invention of Nature
ENGL 3082 Environment in Literature & Film
ENGL 3083 Environmental Health Literature
ENGL 3103 Creative Writing & the Community
ENGL 3104 Poetic Justice
ENGL 3127 Intro. to Critical Race Theory
ENGL 3137 Queer Theory
ENGL 3177 Global English Fiction

Literary Traditions (choose one)

ENGL 2007 American Literature Survey I
ENGL 2008 American Literature Survey II
ENGL 2134 English Literature Survey I
ENGL 2135 English Literature Survey II
ENGL 2087 Pre-20th Century Literature
ENGL 2021 World Literature I
ENGL 2022 World Literature II
ENGL 2078 Bible Literature I
ENGL 2079 Bible Literature II
ENGL 3006 Introduction to Shakespeare

Fields of English (choose one from outside of your track)

Literary and Cultural Studies (LCS) (for Creative Writing and RPW students)

ENGL 3125 Introduction to Critical Theory
ENGL 2046 Identity, Politics, and Literature
ENGL 2088 20th and 21st Century Literature
ENGL 2035 Contemporary Novel
ENGL 2115 Human Values in Literature
ENGL 2067 Topics in Film
ENGL 2184 Comics/Graphic Novel

Creative Writing (for LCS and RPW students)

ENGL 2010 Intro to CW Multi
ENGL 2011 Intro to CW Fiction
ENGL 2013 Intro to CW Nonfiction
ENGL 2015 Intro to Screenwriting
ENGL 2017 Intro to CW Poetry
ENGL 2027 Intro to CW Drama
ENGL 3085 Forms of Poetry
ENGL 3086 Forms of Fiction
ENGL 3087 Forms of Literary Nonfiction
ENGL 3096 Creative Writing & Literary Publishing

Rhetoric and Professional Writing (RPW) (for LCS and Creative Writing students)

ENGL 2000 Digital Composing
ENGL 2004 Intro to Copyediting & Publishing
ENGL 2005 Topics in Rhetoric
ENGL 2060 Language, Power, & Community
ENGL 2070 Desktop Publishing
ENGL 2159 Intro. to Professional Writing
ENGL 4091 Business Writing
ENGL 4092 Technical and Scientific Writing
ENGL 4093 Environmental Writing
ENGL 4094 Biomedical Writing

Rhetoric and Professional Writing Track Requirements

Note that some courses have prerequisites. Most intermediate courses require one introductory course.

Capstones require at least one intermediate course. Course offerings may vary by semester.

Introductory Course

ENGL 2159 Introduction to Professional Writing

One 4000 Level Course – Choose one of the following:

ENGL 4091 Writing for Business
ENGL 4092 Technical and Scientific Writing
ENGL 4093 Environmental Writing
ENGL 4094 Biomedical Writing

Four RPW Electives – Choose from the following list, one must be a 5000/5100-level course:

ENGL 2060 Language, Power, and Community
ENGL 2070 Desktop Publishing
ENGL 2072 Writing for Parks and Museums
ENGL 2073 Writing for Justice
ENGL 2074 Social Media and Society
ENGL 2093 Cross Cultural Communication
ENGL 2144 Social Media for Social Justice & Activism
ENGL 2193 Intro. to Environmental Writing
ENGL 3067 Rhetoric of Textual Analysis
ENGL 3068 Topics in RPW
ENGL 3069 Introduction to Web Authoring
ENGL 3072 Multi-Media Writing
ENGL 3076 Writing with Style
ENGL 3077 Visual Persuasion
ENGL 4095 Theory of Professional Writing
ENGL 4099 Internship
ENGL 5029 Creating Accessible Content
ENGL 5080 Writing Cincinnati
ENGL 5121 Instructional Design
ENGL 5122 Promotional Writing
ENGL 5123 Reports and Proposals
ENGL 5124 Editing Professional Documents
ENGL 5125 Info Graphics & Doc Design
ENGL 5126 User Experience and Usability
ENGL 5128 Publishing and New Media
ENGL 5127 Topics in Professional Writing
ENGL 5144 Document Design
ENGL 5145 Professional Writing for International Audiences

One Capstone
Prerequisite of 9 completed credit hours, offered in the spring semester only

ENGL 5095 Rhetoric and Professional Writing Capstone

Student Resources

Advising (major, minor, certificates)
English Scholarships & Awards
English Student Organizations
Internships
Declare Your English Major, Minor, or Certificate