The Professional Writing Program (PWP) provides Maryland undergraduates with practice in the writing and document design skills necessary for success in their careers. PWP courses help students transition from writing academic papers to writing for the workplace, where the audience is not teachers but professionals who need information to make decisions. In each Professional Writing course, students learn to
identify and analyze audiences
establish credibility
research topics in a specific professional discipline
write and edit for readability and suitability to audience and purpose
critique their own and others’ writing
PWP courses address the needs of majors across the spectrum. Whichever PWP course students take, they will consider specific problems associated with their majors and research and develop successful solutions to those problems. In the process, students get hands-on experience writing in the genres they will encounter in their careers. The skills they acquire in their PWP classes foster responsible participation in our rapidly changing society.
PWP faculty members–with years of expertise in business, the humanities, journalism, law, medicine, the sciences, and technical writing–know how to encourage entrepreneurial spirit and agility in students’ thinking. These abilities are increasingly important in a global society that shares specialized information across disciplines and national borders. Campus surveys consistently show that most undergraduates believe their PWP course taught them how to combine thorough research with careful writing to produce credible and persuasive professional documents. Our Student Testimonials page provides a sampling of PWP’s benefits in students’ own words.
