Winter 2027 Seats Still Available in WRT Classes
Looking for classes for Winter 2027?
Consider taking a writing class to build your creative and professional storytelling skills. We still have seats available, so check out the brief course descriptions below and register for courses in Banner while you still can!
Have questions? Give us a call at 616-331-3411 or email us at [email protected].
Interested in editing and publishing?
WRT 307: Consulting with Writers [SWS]
WRT 307 gives you hands-on experience consulting with writers in academic, professional, and creative contexts. You'll learn practical strategies for consulting with student writers, copyediting, freelance ghostwriting, and developmental editing, all while building your own writing and editing skill and fulfilling an SWS requirement.
Meeting Times: T/TH 4pm - 5:15pm
Prerequisite: WRT 200
Professor: Rebecca Gerdes-McClain
WRT 380: Publishing Lab
Interested in working in the publishing industry? Take WRT 380: Publishing Lab to get hands-on practice in publishing. You’ll learn the skills, best practices, and ethical considerations of the publishing industry. We’ll explore the entire process, including acquisition, marketing, design, and editing by collaborating all semester with authors to create and publish an original work.
Meeting Times: T/TH, 4-5:15pm
Prerequisite: WRT 219
Professor: Jane Morton
Interested in creative writing?
WRT 320: Intermediate Poetry Workshop [SWS]
In WRT 320, you will work to deepen your relationship with language and your own poetic voice. We'll read obsessive, lively poems that challenge convention. We'll work to create a respectful writing community in which to share work with each other. You'll leave the course with a portfolio of poems and the skills to continue writing them.
Meeting Times: M/W, 1:30-2:45 pm
Prerequisite: WRT 219
Professor: Sasha Debevec-McKenney
WRT 360/460: Intermediate/Advanced Creative Nonfiction
In WRT 360, you'll turn your real-life experiences, obsessions and questions into compelling writing that connects with an audience. “Creative nonfiction” means using all the tools in a creative writing toolbox—like scenes, characters, description or humor—to explore and tell true stories. Your writing and editing skills will improve in a supportive workshop of fellow writers, readers, and thinkers.
Meeting Times: T/R, 11:30-12:45
Prerequisite: WRT 219
Professor: Caitlin Horrocks
WRT 420: Advanced Poetry Workshop
“Advanced,” in this poetry course, means that you’ll be challenged to delve more deeply into your individual creative practice, think analytically about your unique poetic voice and style, and discover the habits you’ll need to cultivate to find your most meaningful work. As your classmates will also be serious poets, you’ll practice giving and receiving feedback on each other’s work. You’ll leave this class able to explain how (and why) a poet can seemingly unveil a world of meaning in a single line.
Meeting Times: T/H: 2:30-3:45 pm
Prerequisite: WRT 320
Professor: Sasha Debevec-McKenney
Interested in professional and technical writing?
WRT 200-01: Introduction to Professional Writing [SWS]
In WRT 200, you’ll bridge the writing you’ve done in college to the writing you’ll do in your professional career. While your writing as a professional may take many forms—everything from evaluative reports to project proposals and emails to colleagues—you’ll need a well-practiced writing process to communicate effectively in these forms. In this class, you’ll develop this process, and learn that while there are principles to pay attention to in professional writing. You’ll collaborate on writing projects—for example, an instruction manual or guidebook to gain practice working as a team. You'll also develop specific employment materials, including resumes and cover letters, to help you apply for jobs. [SWS Credit] Prerequisite: WRT 150.
Meeting times: M/W, 1:30-2:45 pm
Prerequisite: Junior Standing
Professor: Alisha Karabinus
WRT 353: Visual Rhetoric & Design
WRT 353 gives you the opportunity to gain more hands-on experience with the industry-leading Adobe Creative Suite while investigating how visual designs function in the world. You will have the chance to create pictograms, illustrated instructions, infographics, and other visual documents suitable to include in your professional portfolio.
Meeting Times: T/Th, 10am - 11:15am
Prerequisite: WRT 253 or Junior Standing
Professor: Laurence José
WRT 358: User Experience Writing [SWS]
In WRT 358, you'll explore new ways that technology and writing intersect. UX writing shapes a user’s experience with a digital interface (e.g., an app). You’ll develop strategies for writing effective, user-friendly text for digital interfaces that are targeted at particular audiences. You’ll learn about user behaviors, motivations, and frustrations while bringing your ideas to life (no coding experience necessary!). You'll also build a portfolio of UX writing and gain experience collaborating with other writers in professional settings. [GenEd Issues]
Meeting Times: T/Th, 8:30-9:45 am
Prerequisite: Junior Standing
Professor: Zsuzsanna Palmer