Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Students may take this course for 1-6 credits, with each thirty hours of volunteer/work time equaling one course credit. Students should consult with a PCC academic adviser and/or other institutions regarding transfer and application of credit to other institutions. In most cases credits from this course will transfer to other institutions as electives only. Course is repeatable.

Upon completion of the course, students should be able to:

• Work thoughtfully, cooperatively and creatively in the workplace in fields related to writing, editing, publishing, and communications.
• Apply the skills, knowledge, and intellectual rigor developed in writing classes in a workplace related to writing, editing, publishing, and communications.
• Make thoughtful, informed, and deliberate career decisions by understanding the skills, the demands, and the cultures of work in the writing, editing, publishing and/or communications fields.
• Communicate within workplaces related to writing, editing, publishing and/or communications with clarity, cultural sensitivity, and self-awareness.
• Continue to explore meaningful career and creative opportunities, as well as additional educational possibilities in the fields of writing, editing, publishing and/or communications.

This course is designed by the student in consultation with a chosen field supervisor and the writing instructor. Activities must be agreed upon by all who are associated with the designed course of study and must be clearly associated with the stated learning objectives. All relevant forms, including the Training Agreement, Learning Objectives, and Employer Evaluation forms, must be properly filled out and signed. At least one instructor site-visit will occur during the term, in addition to ongoing communication with student and field supervisor in order to refine goals and help the student have an integrated and meaningful experience.

At the beginning of the course, the instructor will come to an agreement with the individual student regarding criteria for assigning grades. Credits will be evaluated on a "Pass/No Pass" basis with substantial weight given to the "Employer" or Field Supervisor's evaluation of the student's performance. 
 

Assessments may include:

• One-on-one conferences and/or correspondence with the instructor.
• Response papers or journals reflecting on the student's experiences relating to their placement.
• Response papers to assigned readings and/or films related to the work experience.
• Discussions and/or correspondence with students pursuing similar experiences.
• Writing and editing on the job.
• Short, analytical or application papers on specific concepts, issues, or themes related to the work experience.

Depending on the work situation, themes, concepts, and issues may include:

• Appropriate formats and writing styles for various types of communication
• Analysis of work environment for its cultural, political and/or ideological underpinnings
• Audience analysis
• Communication issues with international audiences
• Communication issues with diverse members of a unique workplace environment
• Documentation
• Document design and specifications
• Collaborative work
• Creative Opportunities for writers
• Educational opportunities in writing-related fields
• Editing text and visuals in various media
• Incorporation of graphics
• Information gathering, including primary and secondary sources and Internet research
• Intercultural communication
• Interviewing as an art
• Legal and ethical issues in written communication
• Meaningful versus Expedient Work Experiences
• Professional writing organizations and resources for grammar, style, and editing
• Project planning and management
• Revision
• Role of Humanities in the larger culture
• Sustainability, the environment and writing
• Website Publishing
• Writing and the Arts
• Writing strategies for different media
• Writing to increase the readability and accuracy of print and online documents that may be translated or accessed by international users

Texts

Though texts are not always required for the completion of this class, the following items are a sample of possible texts that might be assigned to help students further explore their work experience.

1. Editing and Publishing Texts

• The Chicago Manual of Style
• Gross, Gerald, Editors on Editing
• Kenly, Eric, & Mark Beach, Getting It Printed
• Klaiman, Ann Edgerly, Publishing the Literary Magazine
• Lee, Marshall. Bookmaking: Editing/Design/Production 3rd edition
• Shushan, Ronnie and Don Wright. Desktop Publishing by Design.
• Strunk and White, The Elements of Style
• Wheildon, Colin, Type & Layout: How Typography and Design Can Get Your Message Across”or Get in the Way
• Williams, Robin, The Non-Designer™s Type Book
• Zinsser, William, On Writing Well

2. Creative Writing Texts

• Chi, Lu. Wen Fu: The Art of Writing.
• DeMaria, Robert. The College Handbook of Creative Writing.

3. Websites

• Poets and Writers: pw.org
   

4. Films