The Department of Writing invites students to enroll in Technical Writing (WRTG-21300-01, CRN 21130) this semester. Designated Writing Intensive (WI) for the Integrated Core Curriculum (ICC), this course will be offered at 1:10 PM, Tuesday-Thursday, in Smiddy 114.
Technical Writing teaches the fundamentals for communicating technical, medical, and scientific information to general and specialized audiences. Students cover the foundations of technical writing, various formats and applications, context-specific writing strategies, basic visual design, and ethics. They also address such practical challenges within the field as job-hunting, group work, institutional demands, and market forces.
Whether students take this class to complete the Writing major’s Professional Writing concentration, to fulfill a requirement in another major, or to earn WI credit for the ICC, exposure to technical writing will benefit them, professionally and intellectually. Indeed, studying technical writing may even teach them what it means to be human. Homo sapiens, after all, are tool-making animals and technical communication—probably the oldest form of writing—creates a vital dialogue between human beings and their artifacts.
Not surprisingly, then, technical writing, like technology itself, has had a major impact on human society and culture. In fact, some scholars argue, technical writing lies at the heart of Western Humanism. That is why this course is organized around the anatomical and scientific notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci.
Download a past course syllabus at:
Prerequisites: Sophomore standing and WRTG-10600, ICSM-10800, or ICSM-11800. 3 credits. This course will not be offered again until Fall 2024, so please take advantage of this opportunity.
For more information, please contact Dr. Anthony Di Renzo, Professor of Professional and Technical Writing (PTW), at direnzo@ithaca.edu.