Mackenzie Raetz

Original Composition
1/26/15
The major Editing, Writing and Media, most commonly known as EWM, aims to give a
more updated version of something close to a journalism major. This course of study prepares
students for writing and leadership roles for the 21st century. According to the English
Department website, It still preserves the traditional core of English, the creation and
interpretation of texts, by combining practice in writing and editing with the study of cultural
history and criticism. The broad yet thorough education allows EWM majors to be writers,
reporters, communication specialists or public relations professionals. The name of the major lets
you know exactly what youll be doing. Youll learn about social media, how to edit for print and
online and most importantly: how to write. This is the broadest aspect of them all. When
teaching someone how to write, who and what they are writing for is essential to know, such as
print versus online or scholars versus college students. The major requires core classes like
Rhetoric and Writing and Editing for Print and Online that you must take to receive your degree.
Along with, or preferably after, the core requirements you will need to take advanced
requirements. The class What is a Text is an option for an advanced requirement in the EWM
major. Other options include things like History of Illustrated texts, Visual Rhetoric and Issues in
Publishing. I chose this advanced requirement not knowing exactly what it would be, as the title
is very vague. The class included the kinds of writing that the major asks for, but with a more
specific focus.
The class puts a lot of emphasis on popular culture and its texts. This includes things like
television, movies, advertisements, vines, Youtube videos, music videos and social media posts.

The essays you will need to write require both research and in-depth critical analyses. You will
not only have to know that Breaking Bad is popular, but also critically think about why its
popular and the techniques that are used within the show. The writing will be significantly easier
if you have some interest in pop culture. A favorite TV show or band is all you need to be able to
have a connection to the class. Youll learn different pop culture studies terms and you will have
to apply it to the pop culture text youre analyzing. Even the binary opposition good versus
evil is an important and influential aspect of pop culture. The class will bring out your critical
thinking skills when it comes to the culture you consume everyday. Youll think of the kinds of
story telling and what that says about the text. For example, there are multiple kinds of realism in
TV and movies, and which kind it displays will attract a different audience or change the mood
of the show. These essays are moderate in length and dont require outside sources, but you will
need to know how to analyze non-academic texts and apply the terms you learn in class.
You will also compose multimedia texts for the class. This is where the media aspect
mixes with the writing in the EWM major. Multimedia media texts can be as simple as a typed
document with a picture in it, because words and pictures are two different types of media.
Multimedia texts require you to be a little more tech savvy than the average writer. If youre
writing a multimedia presentation about the kinds of narratives in cop shows, youll need to
know which kinds of media can back up your argument. For example, a picture of the characters
from the show provide more decoration than explanation. Including things like YouTube videos
of different episodes or a link to the shows website can provide a more compelling element to
your argument or story. This kind of writing may seem easy because there are less words, but the
project is still demanding. Making a cohesive presentation with a few different media takes time
and attention to detail. Even with this presentation, you will still need to think critically and

apply terms. Making a successful multimedia presentation will require research, skill with
technology and knowing how to make something appealing to the online world. This project will
be much shorter and more concise than normal essays.
This class is important for journalists because it teaches you how to keep in touch with
your community. Knowing what is popular in a certain area tells a lot about that area, which
allows you to communicate with the community more effectively. In National Identity, Popular
Culture and Everyday Life, Time Edensor supports the idea of how important it is to understand
the pop culture around you. As I have mentioned, in another formulation especially pertinent to
the construction of national identity, popular has been considered to be that culture which is
prevalent amongst the people (12). It is prevalent among your audience for a reason, therefore
analyzing it can only benefit you and your work. The work in this class will prepare you to write
for the community and connect with them on a deeper level. Most areas of journalism will have
you deal with the media, and even want you to use social media. Understanding whats popular,
how to analyze and how to present it are critical to a career in writing.
Another class that is crucial to the EWM major is Writing and Editing for Print and
Online. This is a core requirement and one of the first classes you will encounter as you dive
deeper into the major. According to the English Department website, Students will be expected
to create texts for the page, the screen, and the network. Each text will also be edited in accord
with its medium. This means that you will have to write for both print and online and
understand the difference between the two. The editing process will be dependent on if you
considered your audience and medium.
Depending on the teacher you have, you will be required to do different types of writing.
One of the main types you will see is the blog. Blogs are intended to encourage a conversational

voice that analyzes something in a concise way. The blog will have you write about things
related to writing, editing and the journalistic world. An example of a topic for the blog would be
to write about how you use rhetoric in your everyday life. Youre encouraged to apply and
connect rhetorical devices to the the things you do on a daily basis in order to foster a better
understanding of the terms. Blogs are around 500-1,000 words, but you may write more or less
as long as you covered the topic. Part of the blog is learning how to cut down on fluff language
because an online reader will skip over that. This is also where the technology side comes back
into play. You will have to learn how to use a blog publishing system in order to make your
submission look nice with multimedia aspects. The platform chosen various by teacher, so be
prepared to learn whatever they choose.
In addition to the blog, you will need to work with your class to create a website. This
writing will be even shorter and more concise than that of a blog and include more multimedia
texts. You will be required to write short yet informational blurbs for certain sections of the
website then create video, images and links to other helpful resources. The English Department
explains this on their website by saying, Students in this course will compose written, visual,
and/or auditory texts, using a variety of technologies meaning the components of your website
could be words or videos using whatever technology you have available. The work will be split
among your class, so you will have to learn to create a cohesive website with up to 30 other
voices in the mix.
Part of knowing the difference between print and online is knowing how to transform a
print to to an online one and vice versa. Youll be asked to take a print piece and make it
appropriate for online, or turn a badly done online piece and work it into the appropriate fashion.
If you have a print piece that needs to be transformed into an online one, youll need to edit, cut

and rewrite certain parts of the piece. This is where the editing merges with the writing. The
English Department refers to this as repurposing the writing. While a piece of writing could be
well written, it doesnt mean that it is appropriate for the medium. If you need to edit a piece
thats already published online, youll use the skills and information you learned in the class
about what makes something good for online. This could include things like concision, clarity,
white space or headers. While this may not seem like a writing assignment, knowing how to
rework content is just as important as knowing how to produce your own original content.
The last and most important writing aspect is the final portfolio. The portfolio will be
digital, so you will have to work all your pieces into one space. The portfolio is displayed on
things like wix and weebly in order to put it onto one website. The portfolio is important because
you learn how to put your work together for a future employer. Future employers might want to
see all the work youve done in order to evaluate whether or not you are a good fit for the job.
The writing aspect most important to the class is being able to sell your writing and your grade.
The writing you do on the portfolio site will explain the context of all the assignments and why
this accomplished the goal of each assignment. The portfolio is meant to give both employers
and the professor an idea of whether or not you are proficient in writing and editing for print and
online.
Core requirements are meant to be a basis of learning before moving on to the advanced
requirements that need more thought and skill. One of the classes you will have to take at some
point in your major is Rhetoric. Rhetoric is a subject that will follow you through other English
courses, which is why is it recommended that EWM majors take it towards the beginning of their
education. Rhetorics main objective is to make the student become more aware of audience, as
well as be able to write for those audiences. According to the English Department website,

Rhetoric introduces students to key concepts and frameworks useful for analysis of texts,
events, and communication. Rhetoric is all about what youre saying, how youre saying it and
who youre saying it to. This means writing for a variety of audiences in order to initiate
feedback.
One of the largest writing components of the class is using Twitter to communicate with
the class. Twitter discussions will happen each class period where one person will ask a question
of the followers (the class). The question will ask you to analyze a reading or rhetor along with a
hashtag. The hashtags help your tweet get noticed by other English professionals and makes it
easier on you to search other conversations about rhetoric. You are required to retweet and
favorite in order to keep the normal flow of conversation on your twitter feed. This is also a form
of composing, because you are composing a Twitter profile that shows analyses, discussion and
rhetorical knowledge. Twitter is considered to be a text and should be treated as such.
The discussion board feature on blackboard is where you will compose your QQCs. The
acronym stands for question, question and comment. These are meant to help you compose
critically thought questions as well as answer to those questions. After the reading, you will think
of two questions. These questions shouldnt be about confusion on the reading, but rather how it
could be expanded upon or looked at in another way. For example, instead of saying, I dont
understand what Bitzer was saying you would write, How could Bitzers idea of audience
apply to the Twitter audience we are using in class? This shows thoughtful analyses as well as a
way to further the conversation for the other people in the class. The next part could be where
you express confusion, since it is a comment that is free for you to phrase however youd like. If
you think Bitzers argument could be improved, explain in the comment as to why the rhetoric
was not helpful during the reading of his argument. This type of composing requires a more

conversational voice than a research paper. You think of a concise and clear question that furthers
the conversation, then make a comment with a critical observation. After writing your QQC, you
need to reply to another classmates. The reply post is longer than the QQC and needs further
analyses from the question of your classmate. If the classmate ask what the constraints are for
Twitter, you need to name what those constraints could be and why. The QQC calls for
composing that adds to a greater conversation while also performing critical analyses and
summaries.
A longer and more researched based writing you will perform is a research paper about a
rhetor of your choice. Knowing the arguments and theories of many rhetors is essential because
there are a lot of theories and opinions out there. Being skilled in rhetoric means you need to
read more than one side of an argument. You will need to be well versed on the rhetor that you
choose by reading their books, articles or any other work they may have done. This composing
requires thorough research and summarizing of lengthy works. You will also need to provide any
supporting or counter arguments to make yours more compelling. When researching this rhetor,
youll identify other scholars who have had a similar argument to expand and clarify what
youve already said. If Bitzer explained audience in a confusing or one-sided way, then another
rhetor could potentially help your synopsis of Bitzer make more sense.
As stated on the English Department website, the EWM major re-conceives the English
major for the 21st century. The major and types of composing are not just meant to adapt with
technology, but also with the new audience that is created from technology. You will need to read
and do a lot of research just like the traditional English major, but you now need to take that a
step further to accommodate todays society. Youll need to be able to compose on social media
platforms, blogs and websites. Youll also need to research scholars and be able to write a

lengthy essay on their work. The recently established mediums require a whole new course of
study and way of thinking about the English language as a whole. Thats where the EWM major
comes into play. After getting a degree in Editing, Writing and Media, youll know how to
compose a research paper on the works of Chaucer and know how to create a viral ad campaign
over Twitter. This course of study may seem broad, but the various requirements and courses of
study prepare you for all of these endeavors.

Works Cited
Edensor, Tim. "National identity, popular culture and everyday life." (2002).
"Editing, Writing and Media Course Descriptions." The English Department. Florida State
University. Web. <http://english.fsu.edu/ewm/course_descriptions.html>.