Certificate in Technical Writing to Offer Courses in Journal Article Authorship and Content Strategy

This summer, the Graduate Certificate in Technical Writing will be offering a new course on content strategy in addition to a revision of a longstanding course, Technical Writing Praxis, that offers a new track focusing on academic journal article writing. The courses, part of an ongoing revision plan for the certificate program, are available to all graduate students at the U of A as asynchronous online courses in the summer 10-week semester.

Technical Writing Praxis, ENGL 5533, has regularly attracted students from across the disciplines with its focus on building or rebuilding writing skills with a focus on grammar and ethics in writing alongside a track-based approach that lets students focus on a genre or writing area of their choice. All students in the course get a chance to study the plain language movement in professional and technical writing alongside the rhetorical usage of grammar in writing. Tracks include grant and proposal writing, rhetorical style and the new academic article writing track.

In the academic writing track, students focus on article writing in science and medicine, walking through the process of article writing from the early process of source finding and placement choices through the various segments of the classic research structure: introduction, methods, results and discussion.

"The inclusion of article writing is something I've been excited about for some time," said Adam R. Pope, director of the program. "I often get students in the sciences who take 5533 to refresh their writing skills, and working with those students is a highlight of the summer for me. Being able to offer a structured approach to writing articles I hope will continue to build that support while also offering a new area of specialization for our certificate students who want to work as technical writers in more academic spaces."

Style and Context for Technical Writers, ENGL 5503, is an entirely new offering for the program that covers a variety of writing concerns for writers working in industry and content-heavy settings. The course's central thread is a discussion of the how and why of content strategy in technical workplaces, supplemented by a deep dive into how technical writing works within workplace management strategies such as agile and kai zen. The course also covers meeting management and other essential skills for technical writers working in team-based environments.

Pope said, "This course is something I've hoped to offer for a while now and serves an essential role in providing a structure and theory of writing in the workplace for folks in technical and professional writing workplaces. Content is a constant, especially in organizations that regularly route materials to web presences and social media, and this course aims to help prepare students by grounding them in effective principles of practice so they can build and then sustain their content strategy for writing work."

For more information, prospective students can reach out to Pope via email at arpope@uark.edu or by phone at 479-575-2286. More information on the graduate certificate program can be found on the certificate website.