poster idea

I do have ideas for both my poster and my paper. For the paper I was thinking of the idea of "what a difference a year makes" and showing not only the differences in my writing from before and after the PWE but also the before and after results that occured within our branding effort.

As for the poster I was going to do something more along the lines of something cheeky like "how to convince someone to invest" and the idea that the communications that went through my department were fundemental in starting and maintaing relationships with alumni and donors who financially support the college. The poster would display the various kinds of communications we did and why each sample had importance in the overall scheme.

Determining your Program's Values

I found on the Professional Writing and Editing homepage for WVU the following attributes highlighted within WVU's PWE program:

• Understanding the varied roles of writing in a professional context
• Understanding and applying the conventions of different professional genres
• Understanding why and how writing is usable or accessible for different audiences
• Explaining and describing complex and specialized information for both technical and lay audiences
• Developing visual design skills, including the use of graphics and page design

I also found the following list of materials expected of graduate student application submissions:
As a general guideline, we suggest you submit three different types of writing. For instance, some applicants might want to include an 10-12 page literary analysis, a 1-2 page resume, and a brief book review; other applicants might submit a several brief press releases, some professional correspondence (formal letters and memos), and an 8-10 page researched business report. The goal is to use 15-20 pages to demonstrate your ability to write for different audiences and purposes while also showing us that you possess some basic research and argument skills.

For me the largest value spoken through these points is diversity. And I feel that the undergraduate course in the PWE program have certainly highlighted diversity as well. Two years ago I couldn't have begun to tell anyone the difference between Business writing, Professional Writing, Multimedia Writing, and Technical Writing nor could I have stressed how much of an impact editing has on the message delivered within those genres of writing. Now however I have been diversified by the courses to understand how to write within particular confines and to different audiences. Within the course we have also been taught how to diversify a message, such as when, in a proposal or letter to deliver bad news. In all the courses diversity and versatility as a writing have been of paramount importance and I, as the program seems to, esteem it quite highly in looking onward to graduate coursework as well.

trying to refocus

This semester seems to have run away with itself in so many ways. I quit my job which was, effectively, my "internship" for the PWE capstone as well. But, rather than suddenly having 40 more hours a week on my hands, the millions of little things I'd had to put off in my life of full time work/family/school tried to catch up with me. But, I'm reclaiming my schedule now and throwing my attention back where is needs to be, and where it always has tried to be: school work. I haven't been worried so much consider that in the last two years of having the job I have produced well over the required hours of capstone coursework. In fact I also have too much work to narrow down and several possible topics for a paper. But, in some ways, it has been hard even after two weeks to jump back into "work" mode and to rehash and reconsider the work I did in my job. Admittedly I'm ready to put the job behind me and this course is a way to delaying the opportunity to do so. I'm going to try and put a positive spin on it though. My creativity in work existed inside, rather than outside, the box. But now I can finally make of the work I did in my job what I want of it, and that, I hope, will be a very freeing way to close the book on my career in Alumni and Development.

So, now it's down to business. I've got all my writing in front of me and I need to finally figure out what thesis to present and how my work supports it clearly.

I was thinking this morning back to when I last met with Dr. Wible and talked to him about the conditions one must write in when closed in by a "brand". Our college aimed in all its internal and external communications to maintain a common theme, saying, feeling, and brand by which to unite and strengthen the college. And I started to realize how confiding a brand or logo or any such thing can be for a writer. Suddenly, instead of being able to think creatively outside the box, it is imperative in your job to think inside the box and to still do so creatively. That may be the general focus of my paper: the confines of a brand and how to think creatively inside a box. So many complications arise and I believe my work shows the attempt to remain creative, carry the brand, and play by the rules.

Blog URLs

Regina Marie Whitacre Dyke: http://reginadyke.easyjournal.com/


Erica Nicole Reib: http://ereibfit.blogspot.com/

Caitlin Elizabeth Quarles: http://www.cquarles.blogspot.com/

Marie Rafa: http://rafa491a.blogspot.com/

Meagan Birmingham: http://meaganbirmingham.blogspot.com/

Natalie Adkins: http://almostintherealworld.blogspot.com/

Emily Hurdzan: http://www.ehurdzancapstone.blogspot.com

Steven Shamberg: http://pweinternship.blogspot.com/

Jennifer Gavette: http://jgavette.blogspot.com/

Brittney Swisher: http://bswisherwvu.blogspot.com/