College of Arts and Sciences » Academic Units » English » Professional Writing » Professional Writing Undergraduate Program » Rhetoric & Professional Writing

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.

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 2046 Social Justice & Literature
  • 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 2035 Contemporary Novel 
  • ENGL 2046 Social Justice & Literature 
  • ENGL 2067 Topics in Film 
  • ENGL 2184 Comics/Graphic Novel  
  • ENGL 3090 Literature & Medicine

    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 2159 Intro to Professional Writing 
  • ENGL 2070 Desktop Publishing 
  • ENGL 2074 Social Media and Society 
  • ENGL 2093 Cross Cultural Communication 
  • ENGL 2193 Intro to Environmental Writing 
  • ENGL 3072 Multimedia Writing 
  • ENGL 4091 Business Writing 
  • ENGL 4092 Technical and Scientific Writing 
  • ENGL 4093 Environmental Writing 

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