This past quarter, Dr. Lisa Dush taught WRD 532 Content Strategy, where students were able to practice applying content strategies in a professional setting. Students and Dr. Dush partnered with Just DePaul, a sustainability collective who is seeking to further the mission of social and environmental justice. Through assessing Just DePaul’s content and collaborating with each other, Students created a report of practical documentation and deliverables to be applied to current and future content on Just DePaul’s website and social media pages.
Leo Swearingen and Shane Zimmer, who both took the class and are now in their last quarter of the MAWRD program, provided insight into their experience of the course and how they can apply their newfound knowledge across contexts.
What did you like about this course?
Leo: The projects were meaningful because they provided hands-on experience doing things like website revisions, voice and tone guidelines, persona creation, and more. Moreover, the readings connected to what we were doing in class, so they felt valuable. Dr. Dush really made each assignment into a learning experience too—it wasn’t just busy work.
Shane: I liked that we overviewed all the considerations a content strategist must manage, including both internal and external management issues. We talked about how the field is changing, and though it may be somewhat stable in the near future, it’s yet to be seen what’ll happen in the far future.
What were the key skills and concepts you learned over the course of WRD 532? Do you see yourself using any of these in your career in the future?
Leo: One key concept I’m taking from this class is that, because content strategy is a new field, some of its definitions and terminology are loose and evolving. I think this is an advantage rather than a disadvantage because it affords more flexibility. Another key concept is how content itself differs from copy; we aren’t advertising anything outright, but we’re still trying to sell people on our ideas inadvertently through our content. I’m intending for my future career to be a tattoo artist, so it might seem weird at first how these skills apply to me, but I think they certainly do apply. For example, as a tattoo artist I will be in charge of producing content for my social media pages that won’t always be direct advertisements. Sometimes, I’ll just be sharing the art and tattoos I create, and I’m now better equipped to strategize how to make this content have more impact.
Can you describe the goal and process of the final project, a cohesive content strategy report of deliverables?
Shane: We practiced the kind of work that actually content strategists and content managers do in the wild.
Leo: The goal of the final project was to create a comprehensive report on how Sustainability @ Depaul, an organization as part of Just DePaul focused on sustainable campus initiatives, could better their content strategy. One of my parts in this class-wide group projects was to make a mockup of their website homepage better aligned with content strategy principles. Another part was to contribute to a voice and tone guidelines document that helped the organization reconceptualize their writing choices to be rhetorically motivated.
What did you expect this course to be? Did it meet or break any of these expectations?
Leo: I think I expected this course to be more of a how-to on making content, but it makes sense that it wasn’t. It broke this expectation because it was more about how to strategize the way to make content work together for organizational goals. I also expected this course to helpful, and it met this expectation through the group work in the final project. I enjoyed working with my peers.
Conclusion
WRD 532 with Dr. Dush provides a way to apply this new knowledge within a real-world scenario. It is crucial to understand the importance and broader applications of content as a newer, growing field because it helps define goals and set priorities. For students who will potentially write or create content after graduation, and those who currently do, this course equips them to tap into the needs of their future employer and its audience. Through collaboration and hands-on experience, students now effectively understand the inner workings of content and the goals that can be achieved by organizations or companies if they apply proper content strategy.
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