Rhetoric & Writing Minor
Strengthen your writing across genres — and get supervised tutoring experience in the Writing Center — with a 15-credit minor that pairs with almost any major.
Program Overview
The Rhetoric and Writing minor at Shawnee State University is designed to provide you with a strong foundation of knowledge in various genres of writing. With courses in theory and practice, students will become well acquainted with the varying methods and strategies in which writing can be composed.
Further solidifying Shawnee State’s promise to provide all of its students an experiential learning opportunity before graduation, the Rhetoric and Writing minor requires each student to enroll in the Writing Center Pedagogy Course (RHET 4415). This course allows you take a deeper dive into the scholarship and practice of Shawnee State University’s Writing Center. Through this course, students will be able to familiarize themselves with overarching issues and debates within a typical writing center. Simultaneously, they will gain practical and supervised experience tutoring student writers - experience that will prove to be an asset as they emerge into the current workforce.
At A Glance
Rhetoric & Writing Minor
Degree
Minor
Format
On campus
Length
Complete alongside your major
Credits
15
Why Study Rhetoric & Writing Minor at Shawnee University
Five courses, 15 credits — short enough to add to your degree and substantial enough to mean something on a resume.
Required RHET 4415 Writing Center Pedagogy course puts you to work tutoring real writers in the Shawnee State Writing Center — hands-on experience that's hard to get in any other minor.
Two of your five courses are entirely your choice from a curated list — creative writing, technical communication, feminist rhetoric, screenwriting, logic, and more.
Grade requirement: C or better in all courses. Up to 9 credits can double-count with your major.
The minor is 15 credits — 9 required, 6 from a curated list of genres and theory courses.
- Required (9 credits): RHET 3315 Theory/Practice in Rhetoric/Composition, RHET 4405 Advanced Writing and Rhetoric, RHET 4415 Writing Center Pedagogy
- Forms and Genres of Writing (choose one, 3 credits): Technical Communication, Creative Writing (Poetry or Fiction), Screenwriting, Creative Nonfiction, or Poetry Workshop
- Theory and Practice (choose one, 3 credits): Strategic Communication, Feminist Rhetoric, Women's Narratives, or Introduction to Logic
- Marketing, communications, or journalism majors who want sharper writing
- Political science, social work, or pre-law students who write under deadline
- STEM students who want stronger technical writing
- Anyone planning graduate study where writing is central
On campus in Portsmouth, Ohio, with tutoring hours in the Shawnee State Writing Center.
Rhetoric & Writing Minor Frequently Asked Questions
Yes — up to 9 credit hours can double-count with your major coursework. Talk to your advisor to plan the sequence.
A C or better in every course applied to the minor.
RHET 4415 Writing Center Pedagogy is required, and it includes supervised tutoring practice in the Writing Center.
