Writing

Students in any major program at Virginia State University may declare the Minor in Writing. Required courses in Rhetorical Traditions and Expository Writing provide the foundation for the program, which is rounded out by a practicum that lets students test their writing skills in real-world settings. The practicum also gives students work experience in the field. The remaining hours of study are satisfied with 300- and 400-level courses.

In order to enter the program, students must have completed ENGL 110/112 and ENGL 111/113 (Composition I and II) and passed the courses with at least a "C."

Writing Minor

Students in any school at Virginia State University may declare the Writing Minor. The Writing Minor requires 18 semester hours from the list of classes below. A grade of “C” or above must be earned in any course counted toward the minor.

ENGL 240: Introduction to Creative Writing
ENGL 341: Expository Writing
ENGL 342: Technical Communication
ENGL 343: Writing Poetry
ENGL 344: Writing Short Fiction
ENGL 345: Writing Creative Nonfiction
ENGL 346: Writing Practicum
ENGL 421: Rhetorical Traditions
ENGL 447: Advanced Creative Writing
GEEN 310: Advanced Communication Skills

Students also may elect any one course that is a practical writing course (i.e., a course which focuses primarily on disciplinary-specific writing and which includes explicit writing instruction*) from another department. Students should get pre-approval from their advisor for specific courses.

*A course with the “writing intensive” label may not qualify if it simply includes several writing assignments.