Mar 29, 2024  
2021-2022 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2021-2022 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Department of Writing and Rhetoric


Return to {$returnto_text} Return to: Departments

378 O’DOWD HALL
(248) 370-2746
Fax: (248) 370-2748

Department Website

 

Chairperson: Felicia Chong

Professors emeriti: Wallis May Andersen, Barbara Hamilton, Alice S. Horning, Margaret Pigott, Ronald A. Sudol

Professor:  Lori Ostergaard

Associate professors: Elizabeth G. Allan, Felicia Chong, Greg Giberson, Marshall W. Kitchens, Jim Nugent, Megan Schoen, Crystal VanKooten

Assistant professors: Felicita Arzu Carmichael, Roger Chao, David Hammontree

Special instructors: Bernadette Dickerson, Kasia G. Kietlinska

Special lecturers: Glen Armstrong, Reema Barlaskar, Benjamin Bennett-Carpenter, Allison Bohn, Marilyn Borner, Karen Brehmer, Matthew Burkett, Jennifer Coon, Jason Dodge, Colleen Doyle, Emily Francis, Emily Freeman, John Freeman, Christina Hall, Corey Hamilton, Tara Hendin, Lisa Hine, Jenna Katz, Laura Klein, Amanda Laudig, Kathleen Lawson, Adam Malinowski, Cindy Mooty, Jessica Rico, Lauren Rinke, Rebecca Rivard, Cathy Rorai, William Rouster, Sheryl Ruszkiewicz, Craig Smith, Melissa St. Pierre, Michaele Tomrell, Jason Torrente

Lecturer:  Sherry Wynn Perdue

Faculty Adviser: Elizabeth G. Allan

 

Major and Minor Programs

The department offers a major in professional and digital writing and a minor in writing that prepare students for careers in technical writing, editing, social media, web design, and digital media production.

The professional and digital writing major also prepares students for graduate study and careers in higher education, law, and other fields.

A minor in writing provides students with course work and experiences composing for professional, digital, and academic audiences.

First-Year Writing

The department’s first-year writing program helps students to develop fundamental skills in producing and understanding written texts, to gain fluency in writing for a variety of audiences and situations, and to become critical readers and skilled writers of print, digital, and visual texts.

Writing Foundations

Most students satisfy the university general education requirement in the writing foundations area by completing WRT 1060  with a grade of C or higher. Please consult the Writing Requirements section in the general education area of the catalog for alternate ways of fulfilling this requirement.

Placement

The SAT score is the main mechanism used to place students in the writing foundations course (WRT 1060), and in any courses that students might need as a prerequisite to WRT 1060 as follows:

  • SAT Writing or Evidence-based Reading and Writing score of 620-800 (or ACT equivalent) or higher place students in WRT 1060 Composition II.
  • SAT Writing or Evidence-based Reading and Writing score of 410-610 (or ACT equivalent) place students in WRT 1050 Composition I.
  • SAT Writing or Evidence-based Reading and Writing score of 200-400 (or ACT equivalent) or below place students in WRT 1020 Basic Writing.

Placement by test scores does not yield any course credit regardless of where students are placed.

Students with questions about placement in first-year writing should consult the Department of Writing and Rhetoric, 378 O’Dowd Hall, 248-370-2746, prior to the beginning of the semester in which they plan to enroll in first-year writing. Students are responsible for knowing registration deadlines and understanding the implications of schedule changes for their financial aid.

Departmental Honors

Professional and digital writing majors with a combined GPA of 3.6 in courses taken within the major may qualify for departmental honors.


Schedule of classes

Specific offerings for each semester may be found in the Schedule of Classes.

Programs

Courses

Return to {$returnto_text} Return to: Departments