Department of English
Concentration in Rhetoric, Writing, and Communication (Bachelor of Arts in English)
Students on Summer 2024, Fall 2024, or Spring 2025 requirements ENGPPWRCON
The Concentration in Rhetoric, Writing, and Communication emphasizes the critical analysis and production of writing and written discourse in professional, academic, and civic contexts. This concentration provides English majors with a strong core of abilities in reading and writing, as well as an opportunity to build rhetorical knowledge in a variety of modes, sites, and genres of language use.
Successful completion of the Rhetoric, Writing, and Communication concentration will prepare students for effective participation in language-intensive professions. Its guiding aim is two-fold: 1) to foster critical literacy—the ability to see and intervene in the cultural forces that shape the conventions of language use in the many professions and fields that students will enter upon graduation; and 2) to encourage an understanding of how the expansiveness of language helps us describe the workings of written communication in different modes and contexts.
Requirements
The concentration requires at least 15 credit hours, including the requirements listed below.
- Introduction to Professional Writing. One (1) course:
- ENG-W 231 Professional Writing Skills
ENG-W 231 Professional Writing Skills
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- Completion of the English composition requirement
- Description
- Designed to develop research and writing skills requisite for most academic and professional activities. Emphasis on methods of research, organization, and writing techniques useful in preparing reviews, critical bibliographies, research and technical reports, proposals, and papers.
- Advanced Expository Writing. One (1) course:
- ENG-W 350 Advanced Expository Writing
ENG-W 350 Advanced Expository Writing
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- Completion of the English composition requirement
- Description
- Advanced writing course focuses on the interconnected activities of writing and reading, especially the kinds of responding, analyzing, and evaluating that characterize work in many fields in the university. Topics vary from semester to semester.
- Advanced Public and Professional Writing Electives. Two (2) courses:
- ENG-G 302 Structure of Modern English
- ENG-G 405 Studies in English Language
- ENG-R 301 Advocacy and Debate
- ENG-R 305 Rhetorical Criticism
- ENG-R 321 Rhetoric, Law, and Culture
- ENG-R 323 Speech Composition
- ENG-R 330 Science, Advocacy, and the Public
- ENG-R 339 Freedom of Speech
- ENG-R 340 The Rhetoric of Social Movements
- ENG-R 342 Rhetoric and Race
- ENG-R 348 Environmental Communication
- ENG-R 355 Public Memory in Communication and Culture
- ENG-R 396 The Study of Public Advocacy
- ENG-R 397 Visual Rhetoric
- ENG-R 398 Culture, Identity, and the Rhetoric of Place
- ENG-W 321 Advanced Technical Writing
- ENG-X 473 Internship in English (Up to 3 credit hours with approval of the Director of Undergraduate Studies)
ENG-G 302 Structure of Modern English
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Focuses on linguistic analysis of present-day spoken and written English, with attention to its phonemic, morphemic, and syntactical systems and its system of expressive features.
ENG-G 405 Studies in English Language
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Topics vary from semester to semester.
ENG-R 301 Advocacy and Debate
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Covers the role of debate in public life and its applications for public advocacy and democratic institutions. Students will read foundational theories of the role of debate in democratic societies and engage in multiple competitive debates against other classmates. Culminates in a group advocacy campaign related to the topics debated over the course of the semester.
ENG-R 305 Rhetorical Criticism
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- The development of standards for evaluating and methods of analyzing rhetorical texts. Significant historical and contemporary texts are studied to exemplify critical principles.
- Repeatability
- Credit given for only one of CMCL-C 305 or ENG-R 305.
- Fall 2025CASE SHcourseSummer 2025CASE SHcourseSpring 2025CASE SHcourse
ENG-R 321 Rhetoric, Law, and Culture
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Examines the range of ways in which rhetoric, law, and culture intersect in the production and maintenance of social and political community.
- Repeatability
- Credit given for only one of CMCL-C 321 or ENG-R 321.
- Fall 2025CASE AHcourseSummer 2025CASE AHcourseSpring 2025CASE AHcourse
ENG-R 323 Speech Composition
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Focuses on speech content as well as the theory and practice of informative, persuasive, and ceremonial speaking. Topics include the principles of organization, exposition, and argumentation, and language and style.
- Fall 2025CASE AHcourseSummer 2025CASE AHcourseSpring 2025CASE AHcourse
ENG-R 330 Science, Advocacy, and the Public
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Explores the ways that scientists can better communicate their research and concerns to the public. Covers topics related to public perceptions of science, examines how best to present and explain research to non-expert audiences through both speaking and writing, and explores recent public and scientific controversies.
- Fall 2025CASE AHcourseSummer 2025CASE AHcourseSpring 2025CASE AHcourse
ENG-R 339 Freedom of Speech
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- An examination of the concept of freedom of speech as a historical, philosophical, legal, and rhetorical concept.
- Repeatability
- Credit given for only one of CMCL-C 339 or ENG-R 339.
- Fall 2025CASE AHcourseSummer 2025CASE AHcourseSpring 2025CASE AHcourse
ENG-R 340 The Rhetoric of Social Movements
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Introduces rhetorical theories and practices which inform and are informed by the study of social movements. Topics vary and focus on a specific social movement or a range of social movements.
- Repeatability
- May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum total of 6 credit hours in CMCL-C 340 and ENG-R 340.
- Fall 2025CASE AHcourseSummer 2025CASE AHcourseSpring 2025CASE AHcourse
ENG-R 342 Rhetoric and Race
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Explores the relationship between rhetoric and race, including the possibilities and implications entailed by an understanding of race as a rhetorical artifact, and rhetoric as a necessarily raced phenomenon.
- Repeatability
- Credit given for only one of CMCL-C 342 or ENG-R 342.
- Fall 2025CASE DUScourseSummer 2025CASE DUScourseSpring 2025CASE DUScourse
ENG-R 348 Environmental Communication
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- This class is grounded in the perspective that symbolic and natural systems are mutually constituted and therefore, the ways we communicate about and with the environment are vital to examine for a sustainable and just future. The focus of the class may vary to engage topics such as environmental tourism or environmental disasters.
- Repeatability
- Credit given for only one of CMCL-C 348 or ENG-R 348.
- Fall 2025CASE SHcourseSummer 2025CASE SHcourseSpring 2025CASE SHcourse
ENG-R 355 Public Memory in Communication and Culture
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Examines the contested nature of public memory from a communication and culture perspective. Focuses on the nature of public memory, its methods of perpetuation, its role in shaping citizens, and its implications for society.
- Repeatability
- Credit given for only one of CMCL-C 355 or ENG-R 355.
- Fall 2025CASE SHcourseSummer 2025CASE SHcourseSpring 2025CASE SHcourse
ENG-R 396 The Study of Public Advocacy
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Study of great rhetorical works in English. Focus on understanding the nature and role of public discourse in addressing significant human concerns.
- Repeatability
- Credit given for only one of CMCL-C 406 or ENG-R 396.
- Fall 2025CASE SHcourseSummer 2025CASE SHcourseSpring 2025CASE SHcourse
ENG-R 397 Visual Rhetoric
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Focuses on distinctive rhetorical features of visual discourse to examine the political, cultural, persuasive, and ideological functions of media images in United States' public culture. Explores examples from advertising, journalism, and entertainment across media, including print, television, and film. Interrogates the consequences of conducting public communication through commodified imagery for contemporary social life.
- Repeatability
- Credit given for only one of CMCL-C 432 or ENG-R 397.
- Fall 2025CASE AHcourseSummer 2025CASE AHcourseSpring 2025CASE AHcourse
ENG-R 398 Culture, Identity, and the Rhetoric of Place
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Invites advanced undergraduate students to consider the rhetorical dimensions of places with a particular focus on theories of culture and identity (e.g., race, gender, and nationality). Students will critically examine how places are the product of strategic communication choices that have been made to influence how human beings think and behave.
- Repeatability
- Credit given for only one of CMCL-C 425 or ENG-R 398.
- Fall 2025CASE AHcourseSummer 2025CASE AHcourseSpring 2025CASE AHcourse
ENG-W 321 Advanced Technical Writing
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- ENG-W 231
- Description
- Offers instruction in preparing technical proposals and reports, with an introduction to the use of graphics.
ENG-X 473 Internship in English
- Credits
- 1–3 credit hours
- Prerequisites
- English major; minimum GPA of 3.000; 12 credit hours in English at the 200-level or above (including ENG-L 260); and prior arrangement with faculty member
- Notes
- Only 3 credit hours from a combination of ENG-L 498, ENG-X 373, ENG-X 471, ENG-X 473, and ENG-Y 398 may count toward the major
- Description
- Supervised experience with a departmentally based journal or allied publication.
- Repeatability
- May be repeated for a maximum of 6 credit hours in ENG-L 498, ENG-X 373, ENG-X 471, ENG-X 473, and ENG-Y 398.
- Grading
- S/F grading.
- General English Elective. One (1) course:
- Any ENG-G 200–299
- Any ENG-G 300–399
- Any ENG-G 400–499
- Any ENG-L 200–299
- Any ENG-L 300–399
- Any ENG-L 400–499
- Any ENG-R 200–299
- Any ENG-R 300–399
- Any ENG-R 400–499
- Any ENG-W 200–299 except ENG-W 202; ENG-W 205
- Any ENG-W 300–399
- Any ENG-W 400–499
- ENG-X 373 Professional Practice in English (Departmental consent required)
- ENG-X 395 Global Experience in English (Departmental consent required)
- ENG-X 471 Teaching Internship in English (Departmental consent required)
- ENG-X 473 Internship in English (Departmental consent required)
- ENG-X 490 Individual Reading in English (Departmental consent required)
ENG-X 373 Professional Practice in English
- Credits
- 1–6 credit hours
- Prerequisites
- English major; 12 credit hours in English at 200-level or above (including ENG-L 260); good academic standing; and consent of department
- Notes
- Only 3 credit hours from a combination of ENG-L 498, ENG-X 373, ENG-X 471, ENG-X 473, and ENG-Y 398 may count toward the major
- Description
- Supervised, career-related work experience in cooperating institution, agency, or business. Evaluation by employer and Department of English.
- Repeatability
- May be repeated for a maximum of 6 credit hours in ENG-L 498, ENG-X 373, ENG-X 471, ENG-X 473, and ENG-Y 398.
- Grading
- S/F grading.
ENG-X 395 Global Experience in English
- Credits
- 1–4 credit hours
- Prerequisites
- Consent of department
- Description
- International experience in English, usually taken in combination with another English course. Topics vary from semester to semester.
- Repeatability
- May be repeated for a maximum of 15 credits.
ENG-X 471 Teaching Internship in English
- Credits
- 1–3 credit hours
- Prerequisites
- English major; minimum GPA of 3.000; 12 credit hours in English at the 200-level or above (including ENG-L 260); and prior arrangement with faculty member
- Notes
- Only 3 credit hours from a combination of ENG-L 498, ENG-X 373, ENG-X 471, ENG-X 473, and ENG-Y 398 may count toward the major
- Description
- Supervised experience in teaching an undergraduate English course. Students are not involved in grading.
- Repeatability
- May be repeated for a maximum of 6 credit hours in ENG-L 498, ENG-X 373, ENG-X 471, ENG-X 473, and ENG-Y 398.
- Grading
- S/F grading.
ENG-X 473 Internship in English
- Credits
- 1–3 credit hours
- Prerequisites
- English major; minimum GPA of 3.000; 12 credit hours in English at the 200-level or above (including ENG-L 260); and prior arrangement with faculty member
- Notes
- Only 3 credit hours from a combination of ENG-L 498, ENG-X 373, ENG-X 471, ENG-X 473, and ENG-Y 398 may count toward the major
- Description
- Supervised experience with a departmentally based journal or allied publication.
- Repeatability
- May be repeated for a maximum of 6 credit hours in ENG-L 498, ENG-X 373, ENG-X 471, ENG-X 473, and ENG-Y 398.
- Grading
- S/F grading.
ENG-X 490 Individual Reading in English
- Credits
- 1–3 credit hours
- Prerequisites
- Consent of instructor and director of undergraduate studies
- Description
- None
- Repeatability
- May be repeated for a maximum of 6 credit hours in ENG-L 495 and ENG-X 490.
- 400–499 Level Hours. At least three (3) credit hours from the concentration must be at the 400–499 level.
- Concentration GPA, Hours, and Minimum Grade Requirements.
- Concentration GPA. A GPA of at least 2.000 for all courses taken in the concentration—including those where a grade lower than C- is earned—is required.
- Concentration Minimum Grade. Except for the GPA requirement, a grade of C- or higher is required for a course to count toward a requirement in the concentration.
- Concentration Upper Division Credit Hours. At least 9 credit hours in the concentration must be completed at the 300–499 level.
Concentration Area Courses
-
Courses that may apply toward the Credit Hours and GPA requirements in this academic program include all courses listed on the requirement course lists at the time the course was taken as well as any other courses that are deemed functionally equivalent.
Exclusions
The following courses cannot be applied toward concentration requirements:
-
Same as the major, as appropriate based on the Academic program Area Courses list above.
Restrictions
The following restrictions apply to the minimum credit hours required in the concentration:
-
Same as the major, as appropriate based on the Academic program Area Courses list above.
Exceptions to and substitutions for concentration requirements may be made with the approval of the unit's Director of Undergraduate Studies, subject to final approval by the College of Arts and Sciences.