Please note that many of our Professional Writing instructors spend Fall quarter teaching lower-division writing courses to meet the needs of new UCLA students. We therefore offer fewer PWM courses in the Fall than in the Winter or Spring. PWM students should please plan accordingly.
For a tentative list of 2024-2025 course offerings, click here. Please note that the courses listed for Winter/Spring 2025 are not final and are subject to change. Please see below for detailed descriptions for Fall 2024.
Fall 2024- Professional Writing Core Courses
Professional Writing: Digital Writing and Web Literacy
English Composition 130A / Prof. Samuelson
| Emphasis on writing for digital environments such as websites, blogs, newsletters, and social media. Common professional settings for these skills include journalism, political campaigns, Internet marketing, and corporate communication. |
Professional Writing: Science and Technology
English Composition 130C/ Prof. Hartenberger
| Emphasis on communicating complex technical concepts and scientific research findings in clear and accessible way to non-specialist audiences |
Fall 2024- Professional Writing Electives in English or English Composition
First-Person Writing for Aspiring Professional Writers
Variable Topics in Professional Writing
English 110V / Prof. Allmendinger
| This course will prepare students who want to submit first-person writings to journals and magazines that publish works by and for young adults. Examples of such works include memoirs, humor, opinion pieces, and cultural criticism. We will study the marketplace to discover which outlets appeal to students, how to submit to those publishers, how to write a cover letter, and how to develop relationships with editors. Most importantly, we will spend the quarter writing and revising potential submissions, with the goal of submitting a piece to the students’ chosen venues by the end of the quarter. Requirements include attendance and participation, as well as a final revised piece of writing.
The course requisite is ENGL 4W. Students in the Professional Writing minor who have completed alternate Writing II credit may contact the English undergraduate advising office to enroll. |
Writing in the English Major: Analytical
English 110A / Prof. Stephan
| In this course, designed specifically for English majors but now open to students from all majors, you will learn to build on your skills and abilities as a writer of literary and cultural analyses. You’ll find ways to ask richer literary questions, develop more nuanced analyses of complex texts, and shape your own voice as a writer. We’ll focus on literary arguments and begin with this basic question: what constitutes a good, rich, complex question in literary analysis? What makes a substantial topic that might lead to a top-notch persuasive argument? Because good writing (and thus good argumentation) is also a process, we will practice creation, revision, contemplation, and editing, as well as seeking and giving feedback. Throughout the course, we will workshop writing exercises with the goal of making ourselves and others more comfortable and more successful as writers of good academic prose.
This course counts as an elective for the Professional Writing minor. The course requisite is ENGL 4W. Students in the Professional Writing minor who have completed alternate Writing II credit may contact the English undergraduate advising office to enroll. |
Westwind Journal
Undergraduate Practicum in English
English M192.1 / Prof. Wilson
| This course is for the staff of Westwind, UCLA’s Journal for the Arts. If you are interested in joining the Westwind staff, please familiarize yourself with the journal at www.westwind.ucla.edu, and come to the first Fall meeting (time and day posted in the Schedule of Classes)! |
Fall 2024- Professional Writing Extra-departmental Electives
Please consult the reference list of eligible extra-departmental electives here, then refer to the UCLA Schedule of Classes for availability.
Fall 2024- Professional Writing Capstone Requirement
Declared minors will be invited to a capstone information session in their junior or senior year. The PWM capstone seminar, EngComp M185, is offered in the Spring quarter only.
Graduating in Fall 2024? Contact Sara Hosegera at shosegera@humnet.ucla.edu.