Public Writing Initiative
Bridging the Gap Between Academic and Workplace Writing
As effective communication skills become increasingly important in professional environments, the Writing Intensive Program encourages undergraduate students to consider the value of writing beyond coursework. In fall 2016, the Writing Intensive Program launched a Public Writing Initiative to bring professionals into writing-intensive classes. Since then, UGA alumni, university administrators, members of the Athens-area community, and nationally-acclaimed writers and researchers have visited WIP courses to discuss writing in a professional capacity, as well as the importance and development of communication skills throughout their careers. This initiative seeks to foster an awareness of writing as a skill that has real-world applicability and a practice that students will continue to engage in long after graduation.
In the Media
In January 2017, an article about the PWI appeared in Columns, UGA’s online news source.
In May 2018, the PWI was featured in a post on the Franklin Chronicles, the online news platform for UGA’s Franklin College of Arts and Sciences.
Speaker Line-ups
A Positive Reception
According to participating faculty, students gained a new perspective on professional writing and the writing process from the guest speakers:
“It was inspiring to our students. She was able to effectively convey the importance of writing as a practice. She offered many examples from her work at The Washington Post, illustrating the ways in which her writing-intensive Women’s Studies classes helped her to become a stronger writer. She shared strategies for writing, addressed writing anxiety, and explained the art of meeting deadlines.”
—Cecilia Herles, Assistant Director of the Institute for Women’s Studies
Speaker: Alex Laughlin, a UGA Women’s Studies alumna |
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“[Our speaker], Libba talked about what she does at the NeGA History Center, which included, among other responsibilities, writing the scripts for the live historical reenactments performed at the center as well as educative videos the center distributes to schools. She showed the class two examples of those videos, which served to showcase the activities of the center, but, more importantly, to give Libba an opportunity to talk about her writing process. ”
—Oscar Chamosa, Associate Professor of History
Speaker: Libba Beaucham, Assistant Director & Director of the Cottrell Digital Studio
— Dr. David Gay, Professor of MathematicsThe presentation was quite relevant: it was more or less about the ways educational institutions track data and the way that data is communicated effectively to different audiences and can sometimes be misused if communicated poorly. Since most of my students are headed pretty quickly into high school teaching jobs where they’ll be ruthlessly quantified by layers and layers of administrators, I think it was a useful eye-opener for them.
It is great for student to hear from someone who is actually in the business of communicating the subject matter to a broader audience. Students need to meet folks who are implementing WIP principles in real life!
—Lynne Seymour, Associate Professor of Statistics
Speaker: Josh Starmer, Founder and CEO at StatQuest
Participants offered additional feedback on their experiences bringing professional perspectives into the classrooms:
— James HatawayWorking with UGA’s Writing Intensive Program has been an extraordinary experience. It’s hard to overstate the importance of good writing, and I’m honored to be a part of an initiative that helps students realize their full potential.
— Wendy Muñiz and Guillermo ZouainThe program is geared toward strengthening students’ writing skills in ways that are pragmatic and creative. During our visit, it was clear that students had honed these skills as made apparent by their thorough questions and engaging dialogue.
I was asked to talk about my own experiences as a writer, and that was what I did.
—Jackson W. Crawford