FAQ: Professional and Technical Writing
What Can I Do with the New English Major in Professional and Technical Writing?
The SVSU English Major in Professional and Technical Writing is a practical degree that prepares you for one of the fastest growing job markets in the country. Technical writers are well paid and in demand. This major offers you an opportunity to pursue talents and interests not directly addressed through a traditional English major. Students completing the program may enter productive careers in fields such as
- Proposal and grant writing
- Graphics and document design
- Desktop publishing
- Electronic and online publishing
- Computer software documentation
- Technical and scientific writing
- Organizational communication
- Publications management.
You will also be well prepared for graduate study in Rhetoric, Technical and Professional Writing, Composition, or Multimedia.
What Will I Learn in the English Major in Professional and Technical Writing?
This major emphasizes workplace writing and its requirements. Students in the program will develop the writing, editing, graphic design, and multimedia skills to enable them to transform complex information into such things as web sites, brochures, grant applications, reports, manuals, instructions and online help, and multimedia presentations. These skills include the ability to
- Gather information through primary and secondary research
- Analyze audiences, needs, and constraints
- Write clear and effective prose for a variety of purposes and audiences
- Critique, edit, and proofread documents
- Collaborate with others in the text production process
- Design documents and integrate graphics effectively
- Use current hardware and software in all levels of text production, including desktop and electronic publishing
- Use current and emerging multimedia communication technologies
- Understand and apply rhetorical theory and strategies
- Understand the nature of different texts and media, and how documents are tools for solving workplace problems.
You will also complete an internship to gain practical workplace writing experience, and develop a resume and portfolio to demonstrate the range and quality of your work.
What Are the Program Requirements?
The English Major in Professional and Technical and Writing includes required courses in writing, rhetoric, and graphic design; additional courses in selected genres of writing and language study; electives selected from communication, English, graphic design, and / or philosophy; and an internship. In addition, you will be encouraged to develop expertise in a particular area, such as computer science, a scientific or technical field, marketing, art and graphic design, literature or creative writing, or communication.