About the Professional Writing course block
The Professional Writing course block at Penn LPS Online gives you a scenario-based deep dive into the kinds of writing essential to business. Our courses offer a series of concepts and practical applications that provide an accelerated understanding of the subtle arts of communication, enhanced by tips to make anyone a power-writer—a master of grammar, concision, and clarity.
Whether you are in an entry-level position and want to ramp up your writing skills or are an accomplished writer ready to expand and refine your repertoire, the professional writing courses get you to the next level. We take you beyond the basics of structure and style. Our coursework emphasizes professional expertise and extensive feedback as we share cutting-edge findings in the field of writing. Find out how to incorporate your personal or corporate brand’s story into every piece of communication and discover the best ways to identify and appeal to target audiences.
It is recommended that students enroll first in the Fundamentals of Professional Writing course, followed by any additional three professional writing courses to complete the course block.
Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences degree courses in the Professional Writing course block are offered on an accelerated (8-week) schedule. Courses in the block are largely asynchronous with some optional synchronous sessions to be scheduled by the instructors.
All Penn LPS Online courses offer academic credit.*
Please note: Students completing this course block while enrolled in the Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences (BAAS) degree are awarded a Certificate in Professional Writing upon completion of the degree. If you are enrolled in the BAAS program and don't complete the degree requirements to graduate, you are not eligible to receive this certificate.
*Academic credit is defined by the University of Pennsylvania as a course unit (c.u.). A course unit (c.u.) is a general measure of academic work over a period of time, typically a term (semester or summer). A c.u. (or a fraction of a c.u.) represents different types of academic work across different types of academic programs and is the basic unit of progress toward a degree. One c.u. is usually converted to a four-semester-hour course.
The Professional Writing course block prepares you to:
- Assess audience and purpose for communication targeted at achieving specific goals
- Analyze different audiences, scenarios, and contexts in order to shape your messaging most effectively whatever your audience
- Develop effective rhetorical strategies and skills to persuade specific audiences—personal, professional, and social—through visual, written, and multimedia communication
- Draft and revise written work for precision, clarity, and power
- Develop empathic and analytic skills to integrate and build upon other viewpoints and perspectives
- Learn how readers, writers, and designers use complex multimedia texts incorporating language, image, sound, and gesture to produce a coherent, engaging message
- Explore how to engage the senses—visual, aural, and somatic—to convey information effectively through social media
- Understanding how to make complex information accessible to audiences through effective visualization
Meet The Faculty
- Lecturer in Fundraising Communications, Marks Family Center for Excellence in Writing
- Lecturer in Critical Writing, Marks Family Center for Excellence in Writing
- Associated faculty, Urban Studies
Courses
BAAS students who complete four courses listed below earn the Certificate in Professional Writing. Those students are then eligible to pursue an Advanced Certificate in Professional Writing by adding two additional professional writing courses.
- PROW 1000: Fundamentals of Professional Writing (required)
- PROW 1020: The Elements of Style: Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics
- PROW 1030: Introduction to Academic Reading, Writing, and Research
- PROW 2000: Writing with Data
- PROW 2010: Designing Effective Presentations
- PROW 2030: Writing for Public Audiences: The Op-Eds and White Papers
- PROW 3010: The Power of Storytelling
- PROW 3020: Strategic Writing for Fundraising
- PROW 3030: Advanced Academic Writing
- PROW 4000: Writing for Social Media
- PROW 4010: Composing a Professional Identity
Courses are subject to change.
