Hello! My name is Amber Thomas and I am a junior English major with a concentration in Rhetoric and Professional Writing along with a minor in Communication Studies. In spring 2021, I took English 470: Professional Writing with Dr. Elif Guler at Longwood University. I am about to assume the Assistant Director position of the Writing Center at Longwood University. Over the upcoming summer of 2021, I will be working with Dr. Guler to produce some professional writing material in the public domain as well as working with a Longwood literature professor, Dr. Derek Taylor, to polish up a work that is going to be published in fall 2021. I hope to one day use the professional writing skills I have gained over the years and in this course to one day make a difference in my community.
This site serves as an e-portfolio of the assignments I completed in ENGL 470 and my concluding thoughts on the course. Some of the main learning outcomes of the course were to learn to write in different workplace genres. These include brochures, reports, press releases, and more. Although I have written in a few of these genres, I have not done much in-depth research into them until now. I also learned a good bit about copyediting by implementing the Eight “C”s. Previously, I had yet to be exposed to traditional English grammar rules as I am a native English speaker. Two presentations were also completed; one was on my own, while another was collaborative. Throughout the course, I have gained invaluable professional communication skills.
Course Outcomes:
- analyze and produce writing genres according to the rhetorical situation of workplace contexts;
- create professional documents that use plain English principles;
- conduct research to create content for a variety of professional documents;
- create professional documents that use design principles;
- practice oral communication skills to present content effectively;
- participate productively in collaborative projects.