Going through the writing process (prewriting, researching, drafting, revising, editing, publishing) and writing a variety of research essays might feel like something that only fits in the academic classroom.  It might be difficult to see how these skills could translate to everyday life, but the truth is that many of the things we do in our daily lives use skills covered in this course.

Think of all the times that you’ve typed out a text, read back through it, and then made changes to it before sending; this essentially goes through the writing process in a quick manner!  You may have asked someone to look over an email that you’ve written to your supervisor or to the school board before you hit send, and that would be peer review.  Perhaps you’ve adjusted a resume and cover letter to speak to the job description, which is an example of considering the audience and purpose of your writing.

The skills that are taught in a composition class can be readily used in other settings, and the concepts that you learn will be helpful for other types of writing, too.  Writing is used for marketing and sales, to communicate within an office setting, to learn up-to-date strategies as a teacher, to guide your research as a scientist, to interpret or communicate instructions in the trades, to write documentation in information technologies, and in a variety of other jobs.

This module examines the way writing extends past the research paper in the college setting and also how these skills and concepts translate to other areas.