Undergraduate
Welcome to the homepage for undergraduate studies in the Department of Rhetoric and Writing. We are proud to offer the only Bachelor of Arts Degree in Professional and Technical Writing (PTW) in the state of Arkansas.
Major
As of of the Fall 2008 catalog, the requirements for the Professional and Technical Writing major have changed. If your catalog year is before Fall 2008, you will follow the old requirements for the major (that is, unless you choose to do the new requirements).
As a reminder, your catalog year is the set when you begin to take classes at UALR. If you started to take classes in Fall 2007, then that is your catalog year and you will follow the requirements as laid out in the Fall 2007 catalog.
Professional and Technical Writing-Track II (prior to Fall 2008)
What we will call the old Professional and Technical Writing major actually has two tracks.
The Track I major is administered in the School and Mass Communications; it has a roughly equal mix of classes in Journalism from Mass Comm and professional writing courses from Rhetoric and Writing.
The Track II major, as described below, is administed in the Department of Rhetoric and Writing. It requires one course in Journalism (MCOM 2350); the rest of the courses come from the offerings in Rhetoric and Writing.
The Track I major has been phased out. Students need to declare for the Track II major.
Requirements:
- MCOM 2350 Beginning Journalism
- NOTE: In the current catalog, MCOM 2330 is listed as a prerequisite for MCOM 2350, but this is not enforced, and it is waived for PTW-II majors. You will not receive a prerequisite error if you register for MCOM 2350 without having had MCOM 2330.
- RHET 3301 Editing for Usage, Style and Clarity
- RHET 3315 Persuasive Writing
- RHET 3316 Writing for the Workplace
- NOTE: RHET 3326 automatically counts for RHET 3316. We do not recommend taking both RHET 3316 and RHET 3326 because there is a good bit of overlap in material.
- RHET 3317 Nonfiction
- RHET 4301 Theories of Rhetoric and Writing
- 12 Hours of RHET Electives: The electives can come from any upper-level RHET courses, and it may include 3 hours of MCOM. Do not take more than 6 hours combined of internship, independent study and independent writing project.
Professional and Technical Writing Major (Fall 2008 and Later)
The major change in the PTW major as of Fall 2008 is that the tracks have been eliminated, a gateway class (RHET 3200) and a capstone class (RHET 4190) have been added, MCOM 2350 has been replaced with RHET 4305 Document Design, and 15 hours of electives are required (in the electives, you may take up to six hours of MCOM courses, which accommodates students who wanted the old PTW-Track I major).
Requirements:
- RHET 3200 Introduction to Professional and
Technical Writing - RHET 3301 Editing for Usage, Style and Clarity
- RHET 3315 Persuasive Writing
- RHET 3326 Technical Writing
- RHET 3317 Nonfiction
- RHET 4305 Document Design
- RHET 4301 Theories of Rhetoric and Writing
- RHET 4190 Colloquium in Rhetoric and Writing
- NOTE: The core requirement for this course will be to develop a professional portfolio.
- 15 Hours of RHET Electives: The electives may not include RHET 3316, not more than 6 hours total in the following: internships, independent writing projects, and/or upper level MCOM courses.
Recommended Sequence of Courses:
- Immediately after declaring the major, take RHET 3200 and RHET 3301.
- Then, focus on 3000-level courses, which are the prerequisites for 4000-level courses.
- RHET 4305 Document Design applies to all types of professional writing and should be taken early in the major.
- Take RHET 4301 in the first semester as a senior, and take RHET 4190 in the last semester before graduation.
Minor in Writing
A minor in writing requires 18 hours beyond the core curriculum requirements. Selection may be made from any of the rhetoric and writing courses.