Online PW Courses

Professional Writing offers online versions of most courses to Purdue students. All online courses provide students with rich learning opportunities. Instructors have carefully studied online teaching methods and are experts at electronic communication.

What Students Learn

The course websites are networked learning spaces within Brightspace. In these online courses, students practice the art of professional communication. As they learn various strategies and conventions for effective professional writing, students apply these concepts to all writing for the course: graded projects, email correspondence with the instructor and fellow classmates, discussion board posts, and more. These courses are live, real-world instances of professional communication, like what students will find as they learn to write in business and technical fields.

About Distance Courses

Online courses are not self-paced or self-study courses but require students to actively engage with their instructor and peers on business and technical writing topics. Students may engage with the course through lecture materials, online presentations, readings, writing activities, peer-to-peer communication, and more; students are encouraged to collaborate asynchronously through discussion boards and email.

While there are no face-to-face meetings scheduled, some instructors encourage students to attend virtual office hours using online communication tools in Brightspace, Teams, Zoom, etc. Students have successfully completed these courses with time zone differences of 15 hours and more, though if you are facing any difficulties because of time zones, you should discuss this with your instructor as quickly as possible. 

Online Course Availabilities

Distance versions of the Professional Writing general education courses are offered on a regular schedule across fall, spring, and summer semesters. Summer courses are 8 week versions that are expedited but not self-paced.

What to Expect in an Online Course

You should have access to your course's Brightspace page in the days before the semester begins. This will be the main hub for your course. You will also likely receive email correspondence from your instructor in this time with more specific information and expectations.

Distance courses are fully online and never meet face to face. Readings, activities, discussions, assignments, and other projects will be assigned and submitted online through the course website. It will be your responsibility to check your email and the course website regularly and frequently. You should also be prepared to use email, word processors, and Internet applications with relative proficiency. You should also have access to a high-speed Internet connection and devices capable of navigating Brightspace, connecting to Zoom, etc.

Self-motivation and and eagerness to ask questions will be crucial in an online course. To be successful in an online course, students should be comfortable working on their own and with peers. Online classes may require more individual reading and responding to make up for the absent face-to-face instruction and collaboration time. Also remember that summer courses compress a semester's worth of material into half the time, 8 weeks versus 16. These courses tend to get started very quickly, so be sure to familiarize yourself with the calendar and main course expectations as soon as you can.