Applied Writing

About the Applied Writing Concentration

Here are some career paths in applied writing:

  • Public Service Writing

  • Grant & Proposal Writing

  • Technical Writing

  • Feature Writing

  • Social Media Writing

  • Multimodal Editing

  • Web Design

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Course Descriptions

  • The study of writers describing their ways of writing and/or how others’ writing has influenced writers. This course studies the works listed as influential and then examines the application of such influence in later texts. Readings will vary, but will include literature, drama, poetry, essays, journalism and scientific and professional texts

  • An intensive workshop focused on creating technical documents for clients, consumers, and the general public. Topics addressed will include the history, function, theory, and ethical practice of technical writing. Students will become more capable and informed technical writers and potential leaders in their organizations.

  • This course focuses on types of proposals and grant applications written by businesses and nonprofit organizations. Students research, plan, draft, and finalize a business sales proposal, a letter proposal to a foundation, and a grant application to a government agency. These service-learning assignments involve students in working with actual organizations and/or clients and in collaborating with classmates. Students will learn about the careers available to professional writers who specialize in proposal and grant writing.

  • A foundational course introducing students to organizational writing and the planning that informs it. Students will learn to think creatively and systematically about the writing needs of businesses, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies. They will analyze the missions, constituencies, structures, and cultures of existing organizations to identify the most appropriate rhetorical strategies and products for organizations in their real-world contexts. Next, students will draft a plan for an organization, which may include a mission statement, key messages, organizational branding, a list of essential (print, electronic, audio, and video) documents, a yearly calendar of events and document releases, a budget and production plan, and a distribution plan for key documents. In addition, students will study how professional writers face situations that require ethical analysis and action to guard an organization’s mission and reputation. The course will also inform students about careers available to organizational writers and the technologies they use in performing their work.

  • The study and practice of business and technical editing in texts found in corporate, engineering, government, high-tech, and scientific settings, including reports, proposals, manuals, company newsletters, and Internet web pages. Editorial responsibilities for document development, copy editing, and proofreading will be explored.

  • This course in writing biography combines workshop with lecture and class discussion. Students learn how to write biographies for various purposes, including corporate projects, popular biography projects and projects for publication to multimedia. They conduct research, initiate the writing of a book proposal and write narrative for biography while developing individual projects. Small group critique, one-to-one conferences and peer revision techniques may be used.

  • This course focuses on the principles and processes of news reporting and feature writing techniques, including editorial writing, promotional communications, and informative newspaper and magazine article writing. Small group critique, one-to-one conferences and peer revision techniques may be used.

  • Content ...The study and practice of professional and academic (trade, professional, educational, and scholarly) editing for magazines, journals, books, and textbooks. Editorial divisions of labor and approaches and responsibilities of editors, along with the introduction to text development, acquisition, and line editing.

  • This seminar and workshop course in the writing of creative or literary nonfiction introduces the fundamental theories and techniques. Memoir, biography, travel writing, lyric essay, nonfictional novel and other genres may be studied. Small group critique, one-to-one conferences and peer revision techniques may be used.

  • Principles and practice in computer-aided publishing. Examine word processing and desktop publishing capabilities, develop graphic and text design experience, explore the skills needed to produce professional quality newsletters, brochures, reports, pamphlets and books.

  • In this course, students explore social media technologies and study their application in professional practice. Through our examination of and engagement with social media, including social media strategy, blogs and microblogs, social networking, media sharing sites, etc., we investigate theories of social and digital media and consider how these technologies disrupt social norms, impact our process of identity construction, reshape communication, and foster cultural change. Students gain experience planning and creating content for social media.

  • A study of the unprecedented growth of English on a global scale. Course will examine the current state of English in the world and the cultural/social factors that have given rise to a number of different varieties of English in the world. These varieties, attitudes towards them, and implications for various written media of communication will be explored.

  • This course explores career opportunities and considerations facing the complex and varied careers of professional writers. Students in all three concentrations will prepare for their lives as writers through activities focused on topics such as preparing for the job market, overcoming writer’s block, creating a productive writing environment, establishing a productive project portfolio and developing publication/editorial agendas as well as exploring career opportunities and issues.

  • This course focuses on the 21st-century publishing industry with an aim to serve students interested in careers as writers, editors, or other positions in the industry. Readings and discussion topics focus on the process of manuscript development and publication, including analysis of the marketplace and trends; roles of editors, literary agents, and publishing house staff; book proposals and acquisitions; legal and financial concerns; sales, marketing, and production; ethics and gatekeepers; and networking and career opportunities.

  • Study and practice in writing and development of Web content for multiple, diverse audiences in commercial areas, such as e-business, public relations, and advertising; in public service organizations, including nonprofit and government organizations; and in the area of personal and career development. Students will create their own professional e-portfolio and develop Web content for a commercial, nonprofit, or public organization. Course topics will include site architecture, visual rhetoric, audience analysis, collaboration with graphic designers to create Web pages, ethics, accessibility for disabled users, corporate intranet design, and international considerations.

  • A study of written communication across cultures. Course will use a case studies format to explore principles for effectively communicating in English across different cultures. Topics will include document design for international audiences, rhetorically sensitive strategies, issues of translation and contrastive rhetoric. Students will be able to study a specific type of written communication in a specific region or regions of the world according to their interests and need.

  • This seminar and workshop course builds on the theories and techniques learned at the introductory level of creative nonfiction writing with an emphasis on manuscript production and professionalization. Students may build portfolios, engage in long-term writing projects, prepare cover letters and synopses, and develop other sustainable projects. Small-group critique, one-on-one conferences and peer revision techniques may be used.

  • This advanced applied writing course builds on the lessons of PRWR 6260 and is intended for students studying applied writing. Focusing each semester on a significant topic in applied writing, the course will offer students advanced, in-depth study of subjects critical to organizational writers such as grant and proposal writing, organizational writing for external audiences, organizational writing for internal audiences, and instruction in multimedia writing. The course will involve substantial service-learning writing assignments to prepare students for careers as professional writers in corporate, nonprofit, and governmental organizations. Students will collaborate with clients and classmates as they plan, draft, and finalize short, long, and electronic texts. In addition to reading and critiquing written texts, each course will include appearances by guest speakers whose current and previous employment experiences provide insights into the careers of those who write for organizations.

  • Guided and supervised practical experience in one concentration of the MAPW Program.

  • This course introduces students to research methods commonly used by writers and engages students in practices of researched composing for a variety of contexts. Students learn to create and critically consume research reports by getting hands-on exposure to interviewing, survey design, and archival research. The course also teaches how to perform basic qualitative and quantitative analyses and IRB-approved research.

  • Exploration of a specifically designed topic.

  • An intensive, advanced investigation of selected topics derived from individual courses of study. The content will be determined jointly by the instructor, the student, and the student’s advisor. The proposed course of study must be submitted to the graduate director by a deadline published each term for MAPW Committee approval.

Core Faculty

Name
Position

  • Erin Bahl

    Erin Bahl Assistant Professor of English

    Position:
    Assistant Professor of English

    Phone: (470) 578-6297
    Email: ebahl@kennesaw.edu
    Location: EB 189


     

  • Meishan Chen

    Meishan Chen Assistant Professor of English

    Position:
    Assistant Professor of English

    Phone: (470) 578-6297
    Email: mchen18@kennesaw.edu
    Location: EB 155


     

  • Sergio Figueiredo

    Sergio Figueiredo Associate Chair of English; Associate Professor of English

    Position:
    Associate Chair of English; Associate Professor of English

    Phone: (470) 578-2359
    Email: sfigueir@kennesaw.edu
    Location: EB 155C


     

  • Elizabeth Giddens

    Elizabeth Giddens Professor of English

    Position:
    Professor of English

    Phone: (470) 578-6766
    Email: egiddens@kennesaw.edu
    Location: EB 137


     

  • Jeffrey Greene

    Jeffrey Greene Associate Professor of English

    Position:
    Associate Professor of English

    Phone: (470) 578-3724
    Email: jgree167@kennesaw.edu
    Location: EB 265


     

  • Letizia Guglielmo

    Letizia Guglielmo Professor of English

    Position:
    Professor of English

    Phone: (470) 578-6764
    Email: lgugliel@kennesaw.edu
    Location: EB 106


     

  • Kim Haimes-Korn

    Kim Haimes-Korn Professor of English

    Position:
    Professor of English

    Phone: (470) 578-7427
    Email: khaimesk@kennesaw.edu
    Location: EB 175


     

  • Laura McGrath

    Laura McGrath Professor of English

    Position:
    Professor of English

    Phone: (470) 578-6876
    Email: lmcgrat2@kennesaw.edu
    Location: EB 257


     

  • Kurt Milberger

    Kurt Milberger Assistant Professor of English

    Position:
    Assistant Professor of English

    Phone: (470) 578-6297
    Email: kmilberg@kennesaw.edu
    Location: EB 155


     

  • Christopher Palmer

    Christopher Palmer Professor of English

    Position:
    Professor of English

    Phone: (470) 578-6215
    Email: cpalme20@kennesaw.edu
    Location: EB 079


     

  • Lara Smith Smith-Sitton

    Lara Smith Smith-Sitton Director of Undergraduate Studies; Associate Professor of English

    Position:
    Director of Undergraduate Studies; Associate Professor of English

    Phone: (470) 578-3943
    Email: lsmith11@kennesaw.edu
    Location: EB 155B


     
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