There are three courses in the Department of Communications that fulfill the Technical Writing Requirement:

COMM 260 Science Writing for Public Information
An intensive course in simplifying scientific and technical material for specific audiences within the general public. Weekly assignments include instructions, descriptions, explanations, and summaries in such formats as the newsletter, brochure, and report. Audience analysis is emphasized. Not oriented to the mass media.

COMM 263 Organizational Writing
Students write from the point of view of various organizations, including businesses, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations. Emphasis is on appropriate representation of the writer's organization, audience analysis, and clear and effective written presentation of detailed content. Assignments include text for Web sites, reports, proposals, memoranda, letters, and email.

COMM 352 Science Writing for Mass Media
This course covers science in the mass media, especially "how-to-do-it." It looks at opportunities for covering science, constraints that shape that coverage, and techniques needed to write about science. You will write a lot in this course, and at the end you should know how to begin writing about science for the mass media. We will also talk some about "why-we-do-it," but that’s a secondary goal.