ObjectivesThe Department of English Language and Literature offers a Certificate in Rhetoric and Professional Writing for those wishing to acquire a broad, practical experience and understanding of the management, organization and presentation of information and text.
Academic titleCertificate in Rhetoric and Professional Writing
Course descriptionThe certificate is awarded upon the successful completion of the following courses with a minimum 70 percent overall average:
- Three WRIT credits
- two credits from COMM 1F90, 2P90, 2P91, LING 3P94, 3P95
COMM 1F90
Introduction to Communication
Approaches and issues in communication from both humanities and social science perspectives. Topics include the cultural use of symbols and signs, qualitative and quantitative mass media analysis, critical analysis of texts, the cultural character of the Canadian media and the impact of the media and media institutions upon society.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
*COMM 2P90
Computer-Mediated Communication
(also offered as IASC 2P90)
Nature of computer-mediated communication (CMC) and its role in social, educational and interpersonal contexts. Introduction to technology and methodologies essential to explore the potential of CMC.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite: COMM 1F90, IASC 1F00 or permission of the instructor.
*COMM 2P91
Hypertext: Reading and Writing in New Spaces
(also offered as IASC 2P91)
Theory, philosophy and politics of Hypertext as a communicative mode. Topics include critical theory in a Hypertext context, changing perceptions of reader narrative, new forms of Hypertext fiction and Hypertext compared with other electronic textuality.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite: COMM 2P90 or permission of the instructor.
LING 3P94
Semantics and Pragmatics
Linguistic meaning and speaker meaning examined through comparison of major theoretical frameworks and application of analytic techniques to relevant data.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite: LING 1F94 or permission of the Chair.
LING 3P95
Discourse Analysis
Textual and contextual analysis of discourse in terms of language variation, cohesion and coherence, topicality and schematic knowledge. Application of discourse theories to such domains as literary analysis and language acquisition. Collection, transcription and analysis of data.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite: LING 1F94 or permission of the Undergraduate Co-ordinator, Applied Linguistics and Applied Linguistics/Teaching English as a Subsequent Language.
WRITING, RHETORIC AND DISCOURSE STUDIES
WRIT 1P93
Academic Writing for the Social Sciences
Rhetorical analyses of research genres, subgenres and their functions; Social Sciences documentation conventions; how and why research practices and related styles might differ across disciplinary fields.
Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade and credit obtained in WRIT 1P80, 1P81 and 1P94. Note: this course is offered on-line.
WRIT 1P94
Introduction to Academic Writing
Rhetorical analyses of the research genres, subgenres and their functions; how and why research practices and related styles differ across disciplines.
Lectures, lab, 3 hours per week.
Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade and credit obtained in WRIT 1P80, 1P81 and 1P93.
WRIT 1P96
Introduction to Writing, Rhetoric and Professional Discourse
Contexts and conventions of workplace and public genres of writing; selected rhetorical theories; assignments modelled on creative, academic, and professional texts.
Lectures, lab, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: open to EWRT majors and minors until date specified in Registration guide.
*WRIT 2P14
Technical Writing
(also offered as COMM 2P14)
Processes of technical writing and editing. Document design for scientific, corporate and industrial communication. Practical experience in the production of technical documents.
Lectures, lab, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite: one credit from WRIT 1(alpha)80 to 1(alpha)99, ENGL 1(alpha)90 to 1(alpha)99, COMM 1F90 or permission of the instructor.
Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade and credit obtained in WRIT 2P15.
*WRIT 2P16
Communication for Organizations
(also offered as COMM 2P16)
Theory, strategies and practice of writing for both business and public organizations.
Lectures, lab, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite: one credit from WRIT 1(alpha)80 to 1(alpha)99, COMM 1F90, ENGL 1(alpha)90 to 1(alpha)99 or permission of the instructor.
*WRIT 2P18
Reporting and News Writing for Mass Media
(also offered as COMM 2P18)
News gathering, writing, and editing for print and electronic media; journalistic style and conventions; interviewing and other information-gathering techniques; editing basics.
Lectures, lab, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: open to EWRT, COMM, PCUL majors and WRIT minors until date specified in Registration guide.
Prerequisite: one credit from WRIT 1(alpha)80 to 1(alpha)99, COMM 1F90, ENGL 1(alpha)90 to 1(alpha)99 or permission of the instructor.
Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade and credit obtained in WRIT 3P09.
WRIT 2P20
Identity, Identification and the Manifesto
Relationship between individual and community identity as expressed in writing; history of identification and manifestos; the aesthetic and political generic constraints of writing manifestos.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite: one credit from WRIT 1(alpha)80 to 1(alpha)99, ENGL 1(alpha)90 to 1(alpha)99 or permission of the instructor.
*WRIT 2P28
Persuasive Discourse: Theoretical Foundations
(also offered as ENGL 2P28 and IASC 2P28)
Classical foundations, historical developments and contemporary theory. Relation of language use to cultural practices, ethics, identity and power. Analysis of various genres of texts and persuasive writing in popular culture and mass media.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite: one credit from WRIT 1(alpha)80 to 1(alpha)99, COMM 1F90, ENGL 1(alpha)90 to 1(alpha)99, IASC 1F00 or permission of the instructor.
Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade and credit obtained in WRIT (ENGL) 3P27 and WRIT (ENGL) 2P27.
*WRIT 3P06
Creative Writing: Short Fiction
(also offered as ENGL 3P06)
The craft of short fiction writing.
Seminar, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: permission of the instructor.
Prerequisite: one credit from WRIT 1(alpha)80 to 1(alpha)99, ENGL 1(alpha)90 to 1(alpha)99.
Note: students must apply in writing, with portfolio, at least four weeks before the beginning of classes. Details from the Department.
Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade and credit obtained in WRIT (ENGL) 3F05 and ENGL (WRIT) 3P05.
*WRIT 3P07
Creative Writing: Poetry
(also offered as ENGL 3P07)
The craft of poetry writing.
Seminar, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: permission of the instructor.
Prerequisite: one credit from WRIT 1(alpha)80 to 1(alpha) 99, ENGL 1(alpha)90 to 1(alpha)99.
Note: students must apply in writing, with portfolio, at least four weeks before the beginning of classes. Details from the Department.
Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade and credit obtained in WRIT (ENGL) 3F05 and ENGL (WRIT) 3P05.
WRIT 3P16
Organizational Discourses
Relations between culture, discourse and the writing produced in organizational settings; rhetorics of business, management, law, science and media; the role of writing in the production and maintenance of socio-cultural interests and values.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite: one of WRIT 2P14, 2P16, COMM 2P65 or permission of the instructor.
*WRIT 3P18
True Stories: The Art and Craft of Literary Journalism
(also offered as ENGL 3P18)
History and theory of narrative non-fiction from Daniel Defoe to Susan Orlean; techniques of narrative craft in the telling of factual stories.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite: one and one-half WRIT, COMM or ENGL credits numbered 2(alpha)00 or above.
*WRIT 3P28
Rhetorical Analysis
(also offered as ENGL 3P28 and IASC 3P28)
Analysis of literary and non-literary texts using categories, insights, and practices of classical and contemporary rhetorical studies. Texts include poetry, fiction, drama, journalism, scientific and political writing, and advertising. Attention to the rhetoric of public spaces, issues of social justice, and the building and maintenance of human communities.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite: one WRIT or two ENGL credits numbered 2(alpha)00 or above or permission of the instructor.
#WRIT 3P63
Desktop Publishing and Design
(also offered as COMM 3P63)
Practicum in desktop publishing, layout and design.
Lectures, lab, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: open to EWRT and COMM (single or combined) majors and EWRT minors with a minimum of 9.0 overall credits.
Prerequisite: COMM 2F50, one WRIT credit numbered 2(alpha)00 or above or permission of the instructor.
*WRIT 3P90
Life Writing
(also offered as ENGL 3P90)
Cultural productions of the self; theories of and approaches to the study of life writing; texts may include memoirs, diaries, autobiographies and biographies.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisites: two ENGL credits numbered 2(alpha)00 to 2(alpha)99 or permission of the instructor.
*WRIT 3P98
Reporting Arts and Culture
(also offered as STAC 3P98)
Contexts, genres, conventions, and practices of arts journalism in Canada; critical reading of selected texts in arts journalism; practical experience researching and writing arts news, reviews, features, and publicity for print and electronic media.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite: two credits numbered 2(alpha)00or above from WRIT, COMM, ENGL, STAC or permission of the instructor.
WRIT 3V90-3V99
Topics in Writing and Culture
#WRIT 3V99
2008-2009: Interpretive and Critical Writing in the Arts
(also offered as STAC 3V99 and VISA 3V99)
Principles and methodologies for the written presentation and representation of works of art, artists' practice and events within general and specific disciplinary contexts, discourses and frameworks. Examples from across the arts; practice-based projects from real world events and performances. Orientation to specialized publics in print and other media.
Seminar, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: students must have a minimum 10.0 overall credits or permission of the instructor.
Note: event attendance is required; events fees required.
WRIT 4F99
Independent Studies in Writing, Rhetoric, and Discourse
Research project related to writing chosen by the student in consultation with a faculty member.
Restriction: permission of the Chair.
Note: the student will produce a substantial body of work on a writing and communications issue. Students must have a minimum 75 percent average in two WRIT credits numbered 2(alpha)00 or above. The Chair must approve proposals for projects and circulate approved projects to the Department.
*WRIT 4P10
Language and Discourse: Theory and Practice
(also offered as COMM 4P10 and ENGL 4P10)
Analysis of the relation between stylistic features and discursive contexts; encoding and enacting of social worlds and relations in text (both literary and non-literary); introduction to the field of discourse studies in general, critical discourse analysis in particular.
Seminar, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: open to ECUL, ENGL (single or combined), ENGL (Honours)/BEd (Intermediate/Senior), COMM (single or combined), LIAU, LING (single or combined), LISL (single or combined) and LITE majors and WRIT minors with approval to Year 4, and EWRT majors with a minimum of 14.0 overall credits and a minimum 60 percent major average or permission of the instructor and the Chair.
*WRIT 4P15
Words on Words: Narratives of Language
(also offered as ENGL 4P15)
Critical history of the study of language from Socrates to Saussure and after. Theories of the nature and origin of language; the relations among reality, language, and thought, including the relationship between linguistic theories and literary representation in several historical periods.
Seminar, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: open to ECUL, ENGL (single or combined), ENGL (Honours)/BEd (Intermediate/Senior), COMM (single or combined), LIAU, LING (single or combined), LISL (single or combined), LITE majors and WRIT minors with approval to Year 4, and EWRT majors with a minimum of 14.0 overall credits and a minimum 60 percent major average or permission of the instructor and the Chair.
*WRIT 4P20
Rhetoric and Cultural Studies
(also offered as ENGL 4P20)
How writing shapes and is shaped by the cultural, political, and economic spheres; exploration of the intersections between the fields of rhetoric and cultural studies and their contributions to writing production and analysis.
Seminar, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: open to ECUL, ENGL (single or combined), ENGL (Honours)/BEd (Intermediate/Senior), COMM (single or combined), LIAU, LING (single or combined), LISL (single or combined), LITE majors and WRIT minors with approval to Year 4, and EWRT majors with a minimum of 14.0 overall credits and a minimum 60 percent major average or permission of the instructor and the Chair.
WRIT 4P98
Independent Studies in Writing
Research project related to writing chosen by the student in consultation with a faculty member.
Restriction: permission of the Chair.
Note: the student will produce a substantial body of work on a writing and communications issue. Students must have a minimum 75 percent average in two WRIT credits numbered 2(alpha)00 or above. The Chair must approve proposals for projects and circulate approved projects to the Department.
WRIT 4P99
Independent Studies in Writing
Research project related to writing chosen by the student in consultation with a faculty member.
Restriction: permission of the Chair.
Note: the student will produce a substantial body of work on a writing and communications issue. Students must have a minimum 75 percent average in two WRIT credits numbered 2(alpha)00 or above. The Chair must approve proposals for projects and circulate approved projects to the Department.
WRIT 4V90-4V99
Writing Area Studies
Studies is a specialized area of writing.
*WRIT 4V90
2008-2009: Writing the Environment
(also offered as ENGL 4V90)
Creative writing and an examination of theoretical and literary texts concerning the relationship between literature and the environment.
Seminar, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: open to ECUL, ENGL (single or combined), ENGL (Honours)/BEd (Intermediate/Senior), COMM (single or combined), LIAU, LING (single or combined), LISL (single or combined), LITE majors and WRIT minors with approval to Year 4, and EWRT majors with a minimum of 14.0 overall credits and a minimum 60 percent major average or permission of the instructor and the Chair.