Explore Further

November 2006

A bimonthly e-newsletter for students in the College’s degree programs; participants in enrichment programs such as Great Conversations, Compleat Scholar, Split Rock Arts Program, or Curiosity Camp; and curious community members. To receive this and other e-newsletters, click the link at right to subscribe.

L'auteur, c'est moi!
Democratizing writing in the electronic age

Once upon a time, writing was left to the “professionals”—authors, composition instructors, journalists, and the like.

But fast-forward to today, and there’s no escaping the fact that in a world as connected as ours, adults are all writers. We might not be penning the great American novel, or in the hunt for the Pulitzer, but virtually all of us are faced with a variety of writing tasks every day, for personal and professional reasons.

The need for effective writing skills is not confined to a single profession or field, but is a basic requirement of human existence according to Ricardo Medeiros, who has taught writing courses at university-level institutions for more than two decades.

“Writing is, as James Baldwin aptly put it, a ‘political instrument’—and it should be available to everyone,” Medeiros said. “Language is such a fundamental part of what it means to be a human being. We’re wired to be ‘in’ language all the time—even in our dreams, when we sleep. To be able to articulate ourselves on paper is not just a utilitarian skill; rather, it’s a creative tool through which we formulate and give substance to our thoughts.”

For freelancer Jody McNaughton, experience in the business world taught her the importance of producing clearly written communications.

“I’ve been working in marketing communications for more than 13 years,” said McNaughton. “All marketing and communications professionals should strive to be excellent proofreaders and copy editors. Accurate writing, proofreading, and copy editing can save a company from embarrassment and reprinting costs.”

To help adults meet today’s ever-growing demand for writing skills, the College of Continuing Education has developed Continuing Education for Professional and Creative Writing (CEW). It will debut in December with a new writing-centric Web site, complete with free features to help adults identify problems and improve their e-communication skills, as well as direct links to noncredit short courses in writing.

Said Andrea Gilats, associate director for the College’s personal enrichment programs, and one of the team members involved in CEW's creation and development, “we may have great ideas, but if we can’t write well, they may never be recognized or rewarded. Our professional and creative successes hinge on writing fluently, clearly, and gracefully. We must be able to effectively express our good thinking. Our goal is to help adults identify their writing needs, find College of Continuing Education courses and programs to meet them, and provide writing-related information and resources.”

On the Continuing Education for Professional and Creative Writing Web site, to be located at www.cce.umn.edu/writing, adults will be able to test their own writing skills to find their individual weaknesses and strengths.

Another feature will be the aptly titled “Incredibly Bad E-mail,” which will show examples of common problems with e-mail and offer the most important e-mail do's and don'ts.

The Web site will also gather together for the first time all the noncredit writing courses in the College, so adults can see at a glance all the courses offered and choose the ones that are best suited to their needs.

For Medeiros, improving one’s writing not only accomplishes career-related goals, but also improves one’s life. As he explained, “To become a better writer…opens up options for understanding ourselves more fully and, crucially, for understanding our relation to the world.”

The Continuing Education for Professional and Creative Writing Web site will debut in early December. To see a preview of the new site and sign up for notification of the official launch, visit www.cce.umn.edu/writing.

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