English 307, Course Description, Department of English, University of Arizona

Course Description and Goals

English 307, “Professional Writing,” is a course where you will develop written documents that should serve you well in the careers you pursue and in other professional endeavors. As in many other business communication courses, you will produce (and refine) a resume, memos, a report, and other forms of written communication typical in professional settings. You will also be working to develop your ability to write with clarity, coherence, and efficiency. In addition to these goals, however, you will also be expected to engage in critical analysis of the language practices of professional writers and communicators. In other words, I envision a course where we will move from the study of what people write and how they write it into the analysis of what it means for such writing to be produced, and what role professional writers have in shaping knowledge. To study professional practice without a sense of professional ethics is akin to getting in the car and driving before knowing where, exactly, you plan to go. And so the course aims to blend technical and practical skills with critical analysis, personal reflection, and development of specific strategies for how to become an effective and analytical professional writer.

This course has some ambitious goals for you to develop, and successful completion of the course should help you to do the following:

1. Gain awareness of the complexity of professional writing, by introducing (or reviewing) the concepts of audience/discourse analysis, persuasion, and context as essential aspects of effective and ethical communication.

2. Engage in real and simulated professional writing situations in and out of class.

3. Explore, analyze and use strategies for locating, analyzing, and responding to ethical problems in professional writing scenarios.

4. Achieve familiarity with and practice in the use of various types of professional writing, including memoranda (memos), reports, and letters.

5. Develop knowledge of and proficiency in using communicative concepts such as goodwill, you-viewpoint, and indirectness.

6. Respond to colleagues’ and peers’ work critically and constructively.

7. Review and enhance knowledge of major elements of resumes and curriculum vitae, by examining issues of style, layout, content, and language, as well as determining the features and cultural expectations of resumes/CVs to respond successfully to specific audiences and contexts.

8. Perform in-depth analysis of a team-selected professional writing situation; and practice strategies for increasing document clarity and conciseness in their own written and oral work.