The Professional Writing Program at UNI  

The Professional Writing Program at UNI takes a whole document approach. Unlike other disciplines concerned with the creation of texts, Professional Writing addresses both text and design considerations, looking at the ways that culture, technology, genre, history, and topic all shape communication.

The Program is rhetorically focused, reflecting the professional communication field's humanistic roots (as appropriate for a program housed in the Department of English). Its curriculum offers instruction and practice in creating effective documentation, and addresses the dynamic situations of today’s global workplace. Each student taking the Professional Writing minor gains experience and theory in crafting a variety of professional document types (such as manuals, reports, and proposals), composing for scientific and technical contexts, and editing in a professional capacity.

Students achieve these learning outcomes and explore theory as they manage documentation projects, research and compose text, create and alter graphic designs, lay out and publish document files, and print and produce digital and hardcopy forms. Often, these applied communication experiences involve multimodal texts such as Web sites, PDF files, and technology-mediated collaborative endeavors (e.g., Google Docs).

The past decade alone has seen the professional communication field exponentially expand and its identity coalesce, as an increasing number of industries and organizations recognize the crucial role of communication in professional contexts. Professional Writing students graduate prepared to customize their whole document experience and theory to the particulars of each workplace situation.