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Established in 2001, the Program for Writing and Rhetoric (PWR) is responsible for campus-wide instruction of writing. Drawing on the rich intellectual tradition of rhetoric and composition, our program integrates current research and best practices to provide students with rigorous and engaging courses that help them understand and apply rhetorical skills.
Creative nonfiction is a vital part of the writing curriculum in the Program for Writing and Rhetoric. It helps students reflect, engage with the community, and develop as self-aware writers who explore the relationship between creativity and rhetoric.
The PWR emphasizes the creative use of digital media in the classroom and to integrating digital technology into student learning. Faculty members actively participate in discussions about digital teaching and learning, and present at conferences.
The PWR has received university-wide awards for its work in diversity and encourages openness and respect. It offers diverse courses, transfer agreements with other state institutions, and directed self-placement for incoming 1st-year students.
One of CU Engage's "Model Programs," the PWR’s Writing Initiative for Service and Engagement (WISE) integrates service-learning into writing courses. Students work on projects for universities, non-profits, or govt. agencies dealing with social issues.
The PWR offers sustainability-based classes, with faculty integrating sustainability concerns into courses. In 2012, the program received the Campus Sustainability Award. Faculty participate in CU’s Peak-to Peak-Project to teach sustainability as well.
Our campus–wide offers undergraduate and graduate students free one–hour consultations with our professional staff to support writing in all courses and for career preparation.
Our Administrators lead strategic planning, curriculum development, and ensure continued growth of our program.
Our faculty, including tenured/tenure-track, senior instructors, instructors, and lecturers, contribute significantly to our program's growth and development. They enhance courses through their research, writing, and diverse expertise. Graduate student teachers, trained in pedagogy, also teach various courses across disciplines.
PWR staff manage critical administrative tasks including scheduling, records, admissions, and faculty support. They serve as the primary point of contact for inquiries.
Program for Writing and Rhetoric courses offer a workshop-style environment for up to 19 students to explore and improve their writing skills on a broad range of topics.
Lower-division courses focus on critical analysis, argumentation, and inquiry while applying rhetorical knowledge to various writing assignments
Rhetorically informed introduction to college writing. Focuses on critical analysis, argument, inquiry, and information literacy. Taught as a writing workshop, the course places a premium on invention, drafting, and thoughtful revision. For placement criteria, see the Arts and Sciences advising office. Meets MAPS requirement for English. Approved for Arts and Sciences core curriculum: written communication.
Intended for more experienced writers, this course meets the same goals as WRTG 1150 but at a more challenging level. Taught as a writing workshop, the course places a premium on invention, drafting, and thoughtful revision. For placement criteria, see the Arts and Sciences advising office. Meets MAPS requirement for English. Approved for Arts and Sciences core curriculum: written communication.
Please consult the Program for further information.
Explores from both the reader's and writer's perspective the forms of creative nonfiction, including personal essay and memoir. Students will read and write extensively within this genre, develop skill in revision and peer critique, and learn how to submit work for publication. Prereq. WRTG 1150 or equivalent (completion of lower-division writing requirement).
Explores a variety of academic and professional writing genres, ranging from research to technical writing, in intensive topic-focused workshops. Students will read and write extensively within their given genres, with an emphasis on developing a personal writing practice and exposing themselves to a broad range of writing modes. Designed for self-motivated students in a variety of majors. See 2090 Descriptions. See Course Schedule.
Introduces key concepts and practices that are central to understanding historical and contemporary social movements in the United States. Grounded in theories about language, culture, bodies, and power, the course is taught through various frameworks such as intersectionality, rhetoric, critical race theory, feminism, queer studies, decolonial studies, and/or LGTBQ+ studies. Students will discover, identify, and analyze social issues of significance to them; practice developing their own visions for social change; and present their visions in public-facing multi-modal genres. This 3-credit course helps to fulfill the Arts & Humanities category of the Gen Ed Distribution Requirement.
These courses expand on first-year skills, with an emphasis on communication with both professional and lay audiences and connecting knowledge to broader societal issues.
Enables students in the arts to improve their writing skills through developing and reflecting on personal craft. Writing assignments may include pitches to publishers, artist statements, memoir pieces, and other narrative writing. Department enforced prerequisite: WRTG 1150 or equivalent (completion of lower-division writing requirement).
Through sustained inquiry into a selected topic or issue, students will practice advanced forms of academic writing. The course emphasizes analysis, criticism, and argument. Taught as a writing workshop, the course places a premium on substantive, thoughtful revision. Restricted to arts and sciences juniors and seniors. Approved for arts and sciences core curriculum: written communication. See 3020 Descriptions. Not all courses offered every semester. See Course Schedule.
Through selected reading and writing assignments, students examine ethical and social issues that arise within the decision-making processes associated with science and technology. Focuses on critical thinking, analytical writing, and oral presentation. Taught as a writing workshop, the course emphasizes effective communication with both professional and nontechnical audiences. See 3030 Descriptions. Restricted to junior and senior engineering students and junior and senior physical and biological science majors. Approved for arts and sciences core curriculum: written communication. See Course Schedule.
Rhetorically informed introduction to technical writing that hones communication skills in the context of technical design activities. Treats design as a collaborative, user-oriented, problem-based activity, and technical communication as a rhetorically informed and persuasive design art. Taught as a writing workshop emphasizing critical thinking, revision, and oral presentation skills. Focuses on client-driven design projects and effective communication with multiple stakeholders. May be repeated up to 6 total credit hours. See 3035 Descriptions. Restricted to juniors and seniors in engineering; architecture and planning; and the physical, earth, and life sciences. Approved for arts and sciences core curriculum: written communication. See Course Schedule.
Through selected reading and writing assignments, students examine ethical and social issues that arise within the decision-making processes associated with business and industry. Focuses on critical thinking, analytical writing, and oral presentation. Taught as a writing workshop, the course emphasizes effective communication with both professional and nontechnical audiences. See 3040 Descriptions. Restricted to junior and senior business, economics, and IAFS majors. Approved for arts and sciences core curriculum: written communication. See Course Schedule.
A rhetorically informed professional writing course addressing key competencies needed in emerging workplaces. Intended for juniors and seniors from a wide range of majors who anticipate working in communication-intensive capacities. Taught as a writing workshop, with a focus on revision, critical thinking, and collaborative engagement. Key topics: professional correspondence, grant and proposal writing, writing for policy debates, data analysis and visualization, report writing, and advanced oral presentation and multimedia skills. Satisfies A&S Upper-Division Written Communication requirement. See 3045 Course Descriptions
Whether used by nonprofits to catalyze social action, think tanks to argue for policy change, or organizations to promote legislative equity, data advocacy is an increasingly important means of communication in the era of ubiquitous data. While coding and other technical skills are important for advocating with data, ethical data advocacy demands learning how to not only critically examine data issues in the context of existing power dynamics and social practices but also rhetorically use data to tell ethical, compelling data-driven stories and participate in ongoing conversations about pressing social matters. Grounded in the methodologies of data feminism and rhetorical data studies, this course prepares you to do such work by helping you develop a complex array of data skills and communication literacies needed to use data responsibly and effectively to advocate for social change. No prior experience with computer science or data science is needed; instead, you will learn how to blend minimal computing and open-source tools with rhetorical literacies to ethically translate data into effective real-world action.
This Advanced Topics in Writing course provides students with an introduction to the theory and practice of digital storytelling, which is a newly emerging genre that makes use of a variety of digital composition tools to convey a meaningful message in video format. The course is cross-listed with ATLS 3519 and counts towards the TAM certificate or minor. For more details, see 3090 Course Descriptions and hindsightjournal.com/.
Graduate courses are advanced studies for post-bachelor's students, offering specialized knowledge and research opportunities.
Special topics and methods course in composition theory, research, and pedagogy. Topics vary by semester. See 5050 descriptions. May be repeated up to 9 total credit hours. See Course Schedule.
Awards submission periods run from February of the previous year to March of the awarding year.
For more information on our writing awards, or to submit your work, please visit the PWR Student Resources page.
1st Place: Macy Mohlenkamp - A Family of Withering Bodies - Instructor: Nathan Pieplow
2nd Place: Madeline Flanagan - The Stigma Surrounding Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) - Instructor: Nathan Pieplow
Honorable Mention: Jackson Evanow - Animators or Animals? Working Conditions in Japan's Animation Studios - Instructor: Nathan Pieplow
1st Place: Maya Merta - Please return to Ms. Smile - Instructor: Nathan Pieplow
2nd Place: Alan Kerdman - Framing for Electability - Instructor: Eric Burger
1st Place: Jake Warnecke - Not My Emergency - Instructor: Eric Burger
2nd Place: Andrew Hillyer - Introspective Lessons of an Infantry Squad Leader - Instructor: Jason Lagapa
3rd Place: Henry Hess - Cracked Helmets and College Applications - Instructor: Nathan Pieplow
1st Place: Chloe Wolfram - Unspoken and Unknown - Instructor: Nathan Pieplow
2nd Place: Jonah Schwartz - UFC Fighter Pay, Is it Fair? - Instructor: Nathan Pieplow
1st Place: Molly Egan - The Oxymoronic Authenticity of Performativity in Wilderness Travel
2nd Place: Emy Gunn - Is It Really Making You Feel Better? An Examination of Cognitive Dissonance Among College Students
3rd Place: Sebastion Melancon - Speaking with the Leaves
1st Place: James "Turner" Land - Cigarettes - Instructor: Eric Burger
2nd Place: Cade Yoshioka - Walk the Margins - Instructor: Eric Burger
3rd Place: Cecilia Rosedale - News, the Workplace, and Women - Instructor: Eric Burger
Spring 2023: Luke Calvin - From Sport to Concern
1st Place: Alex Barry - Dry Dock and Bus to Show Collaboration Proposal
1st Place: Isabella Brown - Do You Want to Start a Bakery?
1st Place: Meghan Robertson - Writing Portfolio
1st Place: Nathaniel Stein - Public Enemy - Instructor: Tracy Ferrell
2nd Place: Anonymous - Equality in our Schools - Instructor: Andrea Feldman]
3rd Place: Macy Baker - The one About Gender Stereotyping and Lack of Diversity: Gender and Diversity Portrayals in Sitcoms in the 1990s and 2000s - Instructor: Tracy Ferrell
1st Place: Mohamad Eiman Mohamad Rezwan - Assessing the Sustainability of Folktales in Malaysia in the 21st Century - Instructor: Andrea Feldman
