Download WELCOME - Western Oregon University

Emily Lloyd-Jones
Writing Comp
2/9/09
The ability to communicate has become invaluable in today’s society. The
Western Oregon University Writing Program provides undergraduate students with the
skills to do so. Our teaching faculty has a wide range of experience, including everything
from business writing to poetry. Students develop both their theoretical knowledge and
practical applications of writing. Because of the small class sizes at Western, students
and faculty have the opportunity to work closely together. Students are encouraged to
become conscientious readers and writers. The wide variety of offered classes ensures
that each student can become well-versed in all facets of written communication.
Examples of classes include novel writing, business writing, script writing, poetry, public
relations and journalism. But learning at Western Oregon University is not limited to the
classroom. Students interested in journalism have the opportunity to work at the
university’s paper, the Western Oregon Journal. Poets and fiction writers can submit
their work to the Northwest Passage, a student-run literary magazine.
TO: Dr. Meg Artman
FROM: Emily Lloyd-Jones
SUBJECT: Paper #2
After looking over several other writing program websites, I quickly understood that the
playing up the program’s strengths is important on the home page. Rutgers, in particular,
focused on the tech and business aspect of their program. Writing itself isn’t a career and
in a swiftly sinking economy, a good career is becoming more and more important.
Emphasizing the fact that writing is a marketable skill is probably the best way to entice
new and transfer students. I also tried to play up the diverse classes Western offers and
the fact that our school is small. As for word choice, I made an effort to only include one
so-called “big” word per sentence. Welcome and mission statements tend to be overly
wordy, so I tried to avoid that. I also used positive words like “opportunity,” “can,” “get”
and “encouraged.”