Abstract In this article, we trace the journey our professional writing program took from marginal area to well-supported specialty in an English department—a journey we made without sacrificing our commitment to prepare students for professional-level employment. In so doing, we explore the grounds of intellectual compatibility between our field and English studies and describe the conditions most conducive to professional writing's finding a respected place in English departments.

This article describes a service-learning-based capstone course for MA students in Professional Writing and Editing at the University of Cincinnati and illuminates the potential advantages of service-learning on an advanced level. Of particular benefit are the rhetorical and ethical challenges that partnerships with nonprofits can raise, requiring students to draw not only on their writing and design skills but also on their informed judgment. Our experience suggests, however, that, for students preparing for writing careers, the goals of “doing good” or “becoming good citizens,” often cited as desirable outcomes for service-learning, should be secondary to the goal of developing a strong professional ethic.

Research Article| January 01 2001 A Flare from the Margins: The Place of Professional Writing in English Departments Kathryn Rentz Kathryn Rentz Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Pedagogy (2001) 1 (1): 185–190. https://doi.org/10.1215/15314200-1-1-185 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Tools Icon Tools Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation Kathryn Rentz; A Flare from the Margins: The Place of Professional Writing in English Departments. Pedagogy 1 January 2001; 1 (1): 185–190. doi: https://doi.org/10.1215/15314200-1-1-185 Download citation file: Zotero Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search Books & JournalsAll JournalsPedagogy Search Advanced Search The text of this article is only available as a PDF. © 2001 Duke University Press2001 Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.

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