Most Environmental Science and Management professionals spend a significant
portion of their careers writing reports, grant proposals, journal articles, letters, memos, and so forth. However, few have
had any formal training in professional writing. This course will teach the skills and strategies that writers can master
not only to make the writing process less overwhelming, but also to make the final product more clear, powerful, and engaging.
Students will engage in a three-step approach to becoming more effective writers. First, we will read examples of excellent
nonfiction writing with the goal of identifying what makes the writing successful. Second, students will develop and sharpen
their own writing through various short assignments. Finally, we will analyze student writing throughout the semester -- in
writing workshops, peer reviews, and individual conferences -- to provide students with detailed feedback, allowing them to
rethink and revise their writing.
A significant feature of this course is individual conferences with the instructor
during which we work to analyze how students write and to decide which aspects of student writing need improvement.
