WRT 150 COLLEGE WRITING I
This course introduces students to the process of writing they will need for success in college. It increases students' abilities to communicate confidently with others, to think clearly, and to organize ideas. Pre-writing, writing, revising, and editing are emphasized. Students will produce a portfolio of their writings including a self-assessment. Three credit hours. This course is required for and limited to all students who place within the specified range on the placement test. Offered every semester (d & e).

WRT 175 COLLEGE WRITING II
This course develops the students' abilities to write effectively in college. It assists students to make judgments regarding content within their own writing, particularly when utilizing researched sources. It also emphasizes organization, structure, revision, and mechanics. Students will produce a portfolio of their writtren work, including a self-assessment. Three credit hours. Prerequisite: WRT 150 or suitable score on the writing assessment. Offered every semester (d & e).

WRT 200 ANALYTICAL WRITING
This course is designed to follow WRT 175. It develops students' skills in critical thinking and in writing analyses, using subject matter from across the curriculum. Each writing assignment requires research and writing from sources. Students will produce a portfolio of their written work, including a self-assessment. Three credit hours. Prerequisite: WRT 175 or its equivalent in transfer credits. Offered every semester (d & e).

WRT 250 WRITING FOR BUSINESS
This course emphasizes the formal and analytical report. Reports are produced on the computer. Computer skills will include word processing, graphics, and professional packaging. Students write memorandums and letters. The course, which includes grammar and usage review, teaches practical skills to those who write on the job. Three credit hours. Prerequisites: CIS 115 or CIS 120; and WRT 200. Offered Fall semester (d & e).

WRT 260 PROFFESSIONAL WRITING I: PERSUASION AND PROMOTION
This course explores the different types of professional writing, helping students to recognize the variety of career options for professional writers and the most important resources in the field. Students also investigate the ethical implications of technical and other forms of communication while learning how to apply persuasive writing strategies to professional contexts. The relationship between audience and style is covered as well. Students produce a portfolio of short proposals, brochures, catalogues, letters, resumes, and web-based productions. With its training in understanding various persuasive writing situations and how these may be tailored to particular occasions, the course provides a good foundation for grantwriting applications. Three credit hours. Prerequisite: WRT 200. Offered as needed.

WRT 290 ARGUMENTATION AND PERSUASION
A detailed study of the principles employed in effective written arguments and persuasive pieces. The course will familiarize students with the tools and techniques of persuasion, and place special emphasis on the nature of argument. Practical application of the art of persuasion in the professional world will be included. The course will provide extensive writing practice. Three credit hours. Prerequisites: PHI 200 and WRT 200. Offered as needed.

WRT 298 SPECIAL TOPIC IN WRITING
(Topic to be specified each semester course offered.)

WRT 310 CREATIVE WRITING: FICTION
This course teaches the structures and techniques of fiction. Primarily workshop in format, the course teaches creativity in development of plot, character, and minipulation of fictive devices. The workshops give students confidence in oral reading of their works and in the give-and-take of constructive criticism. These classes are supplemented by readings of notable works of traditional and innovative fiction and information on how and where to publish work and enter it in contests. Three credit hours. Prerequisite: WRT 200. Offered Fall semester (d); offered Spring semester (e).

WRT 311 CREATIVE WRITING: POETRY
This course teaches the structures and techniques of poetry. Primarily workshop in format, the course teaches creataivity in recognizing and employing image, metre, and other poetic devises. The workshops give the students confidence in oral reading of their work and in the give-and-take of constructive criticism. These classes are supplemented by readings of notable works of traditional and innovative poetry and information on how and where to publish work and enter it in contests. Three credit hours. Prerequisite: WRT 200. Offered Spring semeseter (d).

WRT 312 CREATIVE WRITING: VIDEO
This course explores the tools of the digital video camera and computer editing capabilities for the purposes of creating student videos in narrative and non-narrative forms. Through scripting, improvising, creating cooperative projects with classmates and editing, students will learn an appreciation of the short video form and of video as a collaborative art form. Three credit hours. Prerequisite: WRT 200. Offered as neeeded.

WRT 320 INTRODUCTION TO CRITICAL THEORY
A writing-intensive survey of current ideas in critical theory, including feminist, post-colonial, psychoanalytic, semiotic, Marxist, and other relevant theoretical approaches. In the course of the semester, students will apply theoretical approaches both to the analysis of literary works and to the examination of current cultural issues. Three credit hours. Prerequisitre: WRT 200. Offered as needed.

WRT 350 RESEARCH AND ADVANCED REPORT WRITING
This course teaches advanced skills for those who write for academic disciplines. Half the course gives hands-on computer experience in using library and other professional research tools, applying techniques of analysis, using research as evidence, and writing and editing. The other half of the course gives workshop experience in the give-and-take of constructive criticism to reinforce writing as a process. This course is especially useful for those who will write on-the-job in business, industries, academics, agencies, and organizations. Three credit hours. Prerequisite: WRT 200. Offered Spring semester (d & e).

WRT 360 PROFESSIONAL WRITING II: PRODUCTS AND PROCESSES
In this course, students explore the connections among rhetoric, design, and technical communication within organizational contexts. Using a problem-based approach, student practice writing a variety of documents, such as formal and informal reports, literature reviews, instructions, descriptions, specifications, policies, and related correspondence. Students examine the advantages and challenges of writing in teams while enhancing their skills at specific problems in organizational settings. Students create a team-produced web page and deliver an oral presentation, both of which report how students applied principles of technical writing to a specific organizational problem. Three credit hours. Prerequisite: WRT 260. Offered as needed.

WRT 398 SPECIAL TOPIC IN WRITING
(Topic to be specified each semester course offered.)

WRT 420 PUBLICATION WORKSHOP
In this workshop, students with previous experience in writing for business, technical writing, and/or verative writing, learn how to write for publication. The class employees a workshop approach, whereby students are exposed to all types of writing and publication issues, while themselves choosing one area of writing in which to focus on publication. Students learn what manuscripts should look like, how to professionally submit them for publication, and how to identify markets and submit to Internet publications. They will also learn about the buinsess of publishing, about grants and contests, self-publishing options, and how to use revision to turn manuscripts into finished products. Three credit hours. Prerequisite: WRT 250 or above. Offered as needed.

WRT 477 WRITING FIELD EXPERIENCE
In this field experience, students gain experience working with a local publication or with some other writing-based career employment. Skills practiced in the field experience are expected to be at a high-level of competence and difficulty and approved by the Humanities Department Chairperson. Three credit hours. Prerequisite: WRT 250 or above. Offered every semester.

WRT 498 INDEPENDENT STUDY IN WRITING
Prerequisite: WRT 175.

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Medaille College, 18 Agassiz Circle, Buffalo, NY 14214

Phone: (716) 884-3281; FAX: (716) 884-0291 

email: Academic Affairs