COM2 & COM3 Courses

Our COM2 and COM3 classes are taught by talented and experienced faculty, and often include activities such as pairing with a student organization or local business so semester projects have real-world impact. Check the course descriptions for more details and for standardized syllabi for these courses.

Students in any major can leverage their COM2 and COM3 course requirements into the foundation for a Professional Writing Minor. See our PWM webpage for more details.

COM2 English Courses

As of March 2022, the following courses are offered to satisfy UW’s COM2 requirement:

English 2005: Writing in Technology and Sciences

Develops writing styles specifically suited to technological and scientific fields of study. Includes focus on disciplinary conventions and styles as well as audience/readership considerations. Introduces techniques for data interpretation and visualization, and helps students analyze, understand, and adapt common field genres and formats.

English 2015: Composition and Rhetoric II

ENGL 2015 helps students become stronger writers, speakers, and thinkers, and features assignments that explore issues that pertain to students’ majors and future careers. Students will engage in different genres for a range of audiences, revise substantially, and practice critical thinking in academic, civic, and professional contexts.

English 2020: Literature Media and Culture

Introduces students to the basic tools of literary, film, and media analysis and develops students’ critical writing, digital analysis, and oral communication skills. No expertise in literary criticism or film theory is necessary in this course; all majors are welcome. These sections often have interesting themes, like cartoons, vampires, sports, or zombies.

English 2025: Introduction to English Studies

This course provides an introduction to English Studies, covering the history of English as an academic field, the options available within it, and possible career paths. Students will also be taught the skills they need to succeed as English majors, including critical reading and writing, and literary and rhetorical analysis. This class is only for English majors and for those considering English as a major.

English 2035: Writing for Public Forums

Introduction to professional writing that focuses on analyzing and producing texts designed to influence public opinion. Genres may include letters, editorials, web pages, pamphlets, e-mail, speeches, and position papers. Focuses on skills in collaboration and use of technology necessary for ethical, effective participation in public discourse.

English 3710: Gender and the Humanities

Explores how men and women are imaged differently, studying the influence of representation on gender (including representations in literature, film, art, popular culture, and/or performance). Sharpens students’ ability to analyze texts and images and investigate those texts’ messages about gender, sexuality, ethnicity, and class.

COM 3 English Courses 

As of March 2022, the following courses are offered to satisfy UW’s COM3 requirement:

English 3020: Culture, Communication, and the Workplace

Examines individual identity and group cultures, and how they influence communication in the workplace. Helps students develop strategies for working across cultural differences and for effective negotiation and conflict resolution skills.

English 4000: 21st Century Issues in Professional Writing

The capstone course in the professional writing minor and also satisfies the COM 3 USP requirement. This spring, we will spend some time constructing a theoretical framework geared toward understanding key issues in the study and practice of professional and technical communication. We’ll start with some foundational material, looking at the role of rhetoric, design, and audience in increasingly digital professional writing spaces and then move to more focused study of ethics, visual rhetoric, and the impact of technology on professional communication, among other things. More traditionally academic (journal review) and professional (e.g., usability test and documentation) projects will range widely and include both individual and collaborative work done in different media for different audiences, some academic, some professional. Students will develop a final portfolio project at the end of the term.

English 4010: Technical Writing in the Professions

Enhances professional writing skills applicable to a variety of professions. Includes audience analysis and adaptation, information design and use of visuals, and a range of formats and genres. Emphasizes clarity and precision of language. May feature primary research and problem-based or service-learning projects.

English 4025: Writing for the Web

Covers a variety of issues relevant for composing in the 21st century. As students learn to design and generate effective writing for a particular audience in a digital environment, they will also develop skills with advanced web and print research, basic HTML programming language, and standard web design software. Prerequisites: WB or COM2 and junior standing.

English 4030: Writing for Magazines

Students write a variety of articles that would be appropriate for submission to a magazine. Feedback is given through class workshops and consultation with the instructor. Award-winning articles are read and discusses. The business aspect of magazine writing is also covered.

English 4040: Rhetoric, Media, and Culture

This class will guide us through the ways in which popular culture shapes the way that we view ourselves and other, and gives us a vocabulary to describe this phenomenon, critique it, and even push back against it.

English 4061: Rhetorical Theory & Criticism

An investigation into how rhetorical theory, spanning from its ancient roots in Aristotelian thinking to its current postmodern components, operates in society. Explores how various critical methods can be utilized to gain a stronger understanding of public communication texts, including newspapers, speeches, music, and film.

English 4075: Writing for Non-Profits

Designed for students interested in working in the non-profit sector. Explores rhetorical, political, and social dimensions of writing and communicating in the non-profit world and features intensive study of special topics and problems related to non-profit communication, including activism, grant writing, organizational rhetoric, and non-profit genres. Content varies.

English 4999: Senior Seminar for English Majors

This course is the capstone course in the English major. Subject matter varies by section. In all sections students will exercise skills acquired in the major (close-reading, historical analysis, application of theory) to explore significant texts and to reflect on the nature of English study today.

 
Contact Us

Administration