Courtney Todd

Prof. Debs
Critical Essay
04.23.15

Critical Essay
My Experience as a Grad Student in the PW P rogram
As a graduate student in the Professional Writing program, I have developed a plethora of skills
that will impact my life as a professional writer. I am experienced in research methods, audience
analysis, document design, instructional design, information design, web design, and the list goes on.
Whether I become an Instructional Designer, a Marketing Manager, a Sales Representative, or a Social
Media Strategist I am confident that the opportunities I had in this program such as my Instructional
Design internship will launch my success as a working individual. I have learned how to use most of
Adobe Suite, front end and back end web designalthough I am not an expert, and audio and video
editing software. I have also learned research methods and how to use the three rhetorical appeals to
persuade an audience. All of these tools and learning experiences from the PW program will not only
help me land a career and build a professional portfolio, but guide me through life as I experience
rhetorical situations.
The design courses, particularly Information Design and Web Design, developed my sense for
aesthetics. I learned how to apply design principles such as contrast, repetition, alignment, and
proximity (CRAP) to documents. These design principles became a guideline for all other works I
produced in my subsequent courses such as Instructional Design, Publishing and New Media, Online
Documentation, and Capstone. Also, it was in these design courses that I learned how to analyze an
audience. For instance, when we gathered data we needed to pull the most relevant information for our
audience by asking three questions: Who are we writing for? Why are we writing? What should the
document look like? In fact, in his book Visualize This, Nathan Yau stated that "our job as a data designer
is to communicate what we know to the audience." (Yau 330). I asked these questions for each project I
worked on in the PW program and in turn, each project had greater rhetorical appeal. The air quality

Courtney Todd
Prof. Debs
Critical Essay
04.23.15
information graphic I helped design as a three person team is a good representation of audience
analysis. Before we developed the child-like design, we not only researched demographics of Beaumont,
Texas, but we also researched reading levels. This determined that our primary audience was 7-12 year
olds and their parents who had little education. In addition, Intro to PW, Online Documentation, and
Science Writing advanced my writing abilities. I conducted a focus group for market research during
Intro to PW. Then, I wrote a report that outlined the methods I used to conduct the study and the
conclusions from the study. While most of the data was inconclusive and did not represent big
takeaways, I developed skills such as, conducting a focus group, understanding the purpose of research,
and the ethics involved during the research process. Online Documentation served a similar purpose for
me as a writer. I learned how to cater my writing to a specific audience. For instance, I created an
interactive media plan for health communicators that need to know how to write for ESL patients and
their families. This plan developed my writing skills as a professional writer because I learned how to
apply clear and simplistic language. Furthermore, Science Writing introduced me to using a narrative
style and voice while representing hard, scientific topics. As a class, we read stories from the Best of
Scientific Writing and developed our own scientific writing voice when we wrote consumer articles on a
science or medical topic of our choice; I wrote about fracking and the harmful effects on wildlife and
livestock. I also wrote a science research paper about the Gestalt theory and how we view scientific
advertisements in our daily lives, particularly focused on the World Wildlife Funds ads. Although
becoming a Scientific or Medical Writer is not the most appealing profession to me, I obtained skills
from the PW program in this field should I want to research jobs further.
Additionally, Publishing and New Media and Capstone concluded the courses I took in the PW
program. As a more developed Professional Writer, these courses allowed me to use all of the skills I
learned earlier in the program, both writing and design, and apply them to projects my group produced

Courtney Todd
Prof. Debs
Critical Essay
04.23.15
for the Northside Community Fund. I specifically worked on a promotional poster for the NCF in Adobe
Illustrator and an eBook for the NCF created in Adobe InDesign. The NCF promotional poster I created
for the Capstone course demonstrates (CRAP) principles as well as a good audience analysis. For
instance, the posters purpose is to obtain more donations for the NCF, create brand awareness, and
connect with a local organization. The target audience was patrons of the farmers market, therefore I
hand drew a sunflower to give it a farmers market appeal. A QR code was included on the poster to
make it easy and accessible for people to donate. The new NCF logo was included to create brand
awareness for the NCF, and the farmers market logo was included to create a connection between the
two organizations. Capstone also developed my communication skills and I realize that sounds clich.
However, it was the Capstone course that pushed me outside my comfort zone in terms of speaking up
for my design and presenting my design to a client.
Furthermore, perhaps the biggest benefit of the PW program is the mandatory internship. I
interned as an Instructional Designer at the Center for Enhancement of Teaching and Learning on UCs
campus. I became interested with instructional design after taking the Instructional Design course. My
job as an intern at CET&L was to create tutorials for professors on how to use the Blackboard s Full
Grade Center. It was challenging as I had to research Blackboard, my audience which was professors at
UC using the Blackboard Grade Center, and developing tutorials in Adobe Captivate. I was somewhat
accustomed to Adobe Captivate as I previously used the software in the Instructional Design course. The
internship not only developed my skills building tutorials and understanding instructional design
dilemmas, but it helped me learn time management as I worked with a supervisor who was extremely
busy and could not answer my questions quickly. I learned how to adapt to an environment where I
needed to make fast judgement calls and decisions to move forward with my work. Learning how to

Courtney Todd
Prof. Debs
Critical Essay
04.23.15
manage time and making quick decisions will help me in the professional writing field as many jobs have
harsh deadlines.
In conclusion, the PW program has been an influence on my professional and personal life. As I
complete my daily routines, I encounter rhetorical situations and understand how to use them to my
advantage just by knowing the definitions of ethos, pathos, and logos. I view advertisements and
marketing materials every day and understand the design principles used in them such as, contrast,
repetition, alignment, and proximity; many times I question the structure and purpose. As Nathan Yau
states, Remember, data is a representation of real life. Theres meaning, truth, and beauty. And just
like real life sometimes the stories are simple and straightforward and other times theyre complex and
roundabout. Some stories belong in a textbook. Others come in novel form (Yau 2). In other words, our
duty as professional writers is to teach our audience about our findings using a specific medium. With
the skills Ive obtained from the PW program, I am confident I will write, design, and communicate
effectively as I continue my journey as a Professional Writer.

Courtney Todd
Prof. Debs
Critical Essay
04.23.15

Work Cited
Yau, Nathan Visualize This. Indiana: Wiley Publishing Inc., 2011