Course Spotlight – WRD 323: Editing

This Autumn Quarter, Dr. Tim Elliott will be teaching WRD 323 Editing, a course for undergraduates to hone not just their editing skills but also their ability to communicate with the writers they’re editing for. I checked in with Dr. Elliott to better understand what WRD 323 Editing is about and what students can expect. Read on to see Dr. Elliott’s insightful responses.  What are your goals for the course and what can students hope to learn? My goals are to help students prepare to edit most kinds of professional documents and become comfortable building rapport with authors. Students will

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Course Recap – WRD 531: Digital Storytelling 

This past Winter Quarter, Dr. Lisa Dush taught MAWRD’s sixth iteration of WRD 531: Digital Storytelling. This course gives students the opportunity to craft short digital personal experience narratives (DPENs) and to learn about how such narratives are circulated for organizational and community-building purposes. Exploring the processes, norms, and ethics of digital storytelling, this course enables students to  better conceptualize and execute digital storytelling projects in both personal and professional contexts. I had the opportunity to take WRD 531 this past quarter, and below I share some of the main class components and takeaways articulated by Dr. Dush, MAWRD student

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Updated Course Spotlight – WRD 264: Language, Self, & Society

As a social practice that we engage in each and every day, language holds a great deal of power in how we understand and move about our world. It constructs how we live, function, and relate to other people. In the upcoming Autumn Quarter, Dr. Jason Schnieder’s course, WRD 264: Language, Self, and Society, delves into this dynamic relationship. Read on to learn more and hear about WRD 264 from Dr. Schneider’s perspective.  The topics of your class–language, self, and society–can encompass many different relationships. Is there a primary one you are focusing on? Not a primary one, but the

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Updated Course Spotlight – WRD 551: Teaching Apprenticeship Practicum

Overview of WRD 551 & TAP WRD 551 functions as the companion course to WRD’s Teaching Apprentice Practicum (TAP), a program that gives MA in WRD and ENG students the unique opportunity to teach a section of WRD 103, one of the two courses in DePaul’s First-Year Writing Program. As they teach using a shared syllabus, TAP instructors meet weekly in WRD 551: Teaching Apprenticeship Practicum during Autumn Quarter to discuss composition pedagogy,  share classroom experiences, and prepare for upcoming WRD 103 class meetings. WRD’s Director of First-Year Writing, Prof. Erin Workman, teaches WRD 551 and summarizes the class as

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Course Spotlight – WRD 514: Sociolinguistics

Overview of WRD 514 In Autumn Quarter 2024, Dr. Jason Schneider will teach another section of WRD 514: Sociolinguistics. This introduction to the study of sociolinguistics explores language as a social phenomenon, with particular focus on the ways that language practices intersect with place, power, identity, gender, and race. Graduate students will have the opportunity to engage with theoretical readings and case studies that provide a range of perspectives in the field.  The course will be offered as five sessions in-person on campus (in odd-numbered weeks) and five sessions synchronous Zoom meetings (in even-numbered weeks). Students interested in teaching language

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Exit Requirement Q&A

The first presentations for the new exit requirement will be given in Spring Quarter 2024.  Learn more about why the decision to change the exit requirement was made and get some insider knowledge on what the Graduate Committee is hoping you will achieve with your presentation. I sat down for a question and answer session with MAWRD Director Jason Kalin, who helped illuminate some information that will be helpful going forward in your own presentations.  Decisions about the graduate program are made by the Graduate Committee, which is a subset of the tenure-line faculty. The Graduate Committee comes to a

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Alumni Spotlight: Kristin Fleming

MAWRD alumna Kristin Fleming (’22) spent her time in WRD strengthening specific writing skills while enjoying a range of courses in rhetoric as well. Today, Kristin works as a Senior Medical Writer, where she is able to combine her interests for technical writing and science. Read on to learn more about Kristin’s time at DePaul, and how MAWRD prepared her for her current and future career moves. Why did you decide to pursue a degree in WRD? I wanted to pursue a degree in writing that strengthened my technical skills while also indulging in my love of theory. I had

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Spring Break Reading Recommendations

With Spring Break on the horizon and Winter Quarter nearly behind us, it’s a better time than ever to look out for reading that invigorates the soul and keeps you excited for upcoming Spring Quarter classes.   We heard from 5 MAWRD students and got their reading recommendations for you to enjoy during your Spring Break!  The Home Place: Memoirs of a Colored Man’s Love Affair with Nature by J. Drew Lanham — Recommended by MAWRD GA Grace Von Lehman This is a powerful, reverent reflection on being intimately curious about nature and understanding human life as an element of nature

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Event Recap: WRD Internship Information Session, Winter 2024

On February 14, the WRD Department’s Student Community Committee hosted an internship information session to help students navigate finding, funding, and making the most of internship experiences.  Current undergraduate student Miranda Kincer, MAWRD alumna Natalie Toth, and Professor Lisa Dush shared about their own experiences being, hiring, and advising interns (respectively).  Each offered advice for current WRD students looking to incorporate internship experience in their academic journeys.  The Panelists Miranda Kincer, BA ‘24, is a Research Assistant Intern at the Chicago History Museum, where she is working with a curatorial team to write, format, and present a special exhibit on

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