WRT 301 Advanced Writing Studio: Civic Writing—Outcomes

The overall goal of civic writing courses is to teach student writers how to communicate--actively, competently, with critical awareness--in public life (e.g., in community issues, public affairs, government).

Students will develop the topic expertise, situational knowledge, and rhetorical abilities needed to play civic and public roles (e.g., concerned citizen, elected or appointed official, taskforce member, government professional, or community activist).

Students will critically consider democratic public life, broadly defined (e.g., a course may take up one or more of the following: citizenship, political representation, community activism, voluntary community

• Students will selectively read and discuss concepts important so civic life (e.g., democracy, public, community, civil society, advocacy, public interest, or public service).
• Students will hear from and interact with practitioners and commentators who are engaged in civic and professional roles through interviews, class presentations, etc.

Students will produce real-world genres for real-world audiences.

• Students will practice writing and speaking in the genres of civic communication appropriate to their project (e.g., letters to the editor, op-ed pieces, fact sheets, media kits, protest posters, white papers, legislative proposals).
• Students will practice writing for varied audiences, editing for different styles and contexts and presenting in diverse publication formats.

Students will engage in sustained projects and produce a number of products carefully calculated for rhetorical effectiveness as civic writing within particular contexts.

• Students will learn research strategies for developing knowledge of topics, issues, and contexts (e.g., observing public hearings, interviewing key players or elected officials, accessing and assessing digital information sources, or researching government records).
• Students will analyze target audiences.
• Students will study and produce many, typically concise products, which are appropriate for particular audiences in specific public contexts, settings, and situations (i.e., students will not usually write long, formal academic papers), based on (typically) self-selected topics.