Professional Writing at Purdue

Interested in professional writing classes? Here's what we're offering in the fall!

Only one more week until finals, Boilers! Take care of yourself and remember that your professors and staff are here to support you.

Congratulations to Professional Writing senior Aurora Lyons for receiving the 2022 Outstanding Senior Award in Professional Writing!

If you want to further your writing or maybe get ahead in your degree, look at some of our summer classes! Always with a career focus, they will certainly help you hone your skills in whatever discipline you're interested in, from game design to health sciences. Write on, Boilers!

Dr. Sarah Nestor earned her Ph.D. (2012) from Marquette University and has been teaching writing courses since 2007. Originally from Indianapolis, Dr. Nestor is happy to be living back in Indiana after spending time in Wisconsin and Ohio. Currently, Dr. Nestor teaches ENGL 420: Business Writing and enjoys working with students on their "Improve Purdue" proposals. She has also learned to "Boiler Up" and enjoys spending time on Purdue's beautiful campus.

We’re two weeks out from our final workshop of the semester: April 28 from 12:30pm – 1:20pm in GRIS 102. This will be an in-person workshop.

Our facilitator will be Melissa A. Evens of the Krannert Communication Center. She will be discussing transformative experiences at Krannert. At this workshop, we will

Learn about business case experiences
Explore how Krannert students practice business communication skills
Discuss potential collaborations

Since many of our students come from Krannert, this is an excellent opportunity for us to gain insight about their experiences and how we can better support them in their academic work and future careers.

As we're nearing the end of the semester (just three weeks to go!), make sure to give yourself some time to pause! We've been through a lot of changes this semester, and it's important to put yourself first so you have the energy to finish up your big end-of-semester projects. Go Boilers!

Mason is earning his PhD at Purdue in rhetoric and composition. During his PhD he started teaching iCap before becoming a mentor for the PW program. Mason applied to the Fulbright in October 2020 doing workshops at Purdue 10-6 months before the deadline. He went through six full drafts of his application, constantly redrafting to improve his idea and his application. He applied for Chile because he wanted to go to a non-traditional location for Fulbright and already knew that Chile was very well-known for entrepreneurship, an area of research he’s very interested in. His Fulbright application for Chile also aligned well with another grant that he applied for but was turned down. Part of his application process for Fulbright was getting in contact with people in Chile to see if his research idea was feasible, and he actually managed to connect with a profession in Chile for a letter of support. Despite worries due to COVID-19, Mason successfully left for his 9 month Fulbright research project on February 27!

In Chile, Mason is working for an organization called Start-Up Chile. It’s an internationally known business accelerator that’s funded by the government of Chile and invites entrepreneurs from 80 countries. In Chile he wants to study how the performance of startups is correlated with the persuasive structures they use, how the whole organization functions as a network, and what intercultural communication looks like when people from 80 different countries converse.

Once he returns from Chile, Mason plans to finish his PhD. At that point he expects to be mostly done writing his dissertation, having gathered all data during his time in Chile. After that he hopes to become a professor and follow a tenure track.

If you’re interested in applying for a teaching or research grant through Fulbright, Mason encourages you to apply. “It’s possible. It’s a lot of work, but it’s possible. Purdue has an amazing network of support that can make your dreams into reality.”

Never forget the power you have as a writer.

If you're graduating this semester or looking for a summer internship, check out these websites! They can help you career specific opportunities.
Let us know if you've used these, or if you have any more job searching recommendations!

Don't forget to submit your applications for the pedagogy and professionalization awards this Sunday! We really want to honor the amazing work our instructors have accomplished, so be sure to submit!

Dee McCormick is a Ph.D. Candidate in rhetoric and composition and a professional writing instructor currently teaching ENGL 422: Writing for the Health and Human Sciences. They have previously served as an instructor, technology mentor, and online course administrator in the ICaP (Introductory Composition at Purdue) program. Right now, they are finishing up their dissertation, which focuses on the blending of spiritual, medical, and scientific rhetorics that characterized discourse on drugs and recovery during the mid-20th century. Dee has also published work that addresses the intersection of transgender rhetorics and the politics of health and medicine. They look forward to future teaching and research in the health-and-medicine wing of the professional writing field, at Purdue and elsewhere!