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Minors in writing and rhetoric come from across the disciplines, yet share a common love for writing and a commitment to clear, critical and persuasive discourse. Tailoring the program to meet their individual interests, concentrations, and career goals, minors take courses in a variety of essay forms, from narrative and expository essays to argumentative and research essays. As well, they immerse themselves in the study of rhetoric, through courses in rhetorical history and theory, style, cultural rhetorics, studies in new media and visual rhetoric, and special topics in language and discourse theory.
What Our Minors Say...
"I became a writing and rhetoric minor soon after I took my first writing class. Had a writing major been an option, I would have definitely done that! My minor has gone hand in hand with my biology major. From lab reports to journal articles, I use my writing skills every day in the sciences. And because I hope to eventually become a dentist, my writing skills will surely come in handy in my future. The writing and rhetoric department has been a wonderful part of my Colgate experience, and I would encourage everyone to become a writing and rhetoric minor -- and if not, at least take a couple of writing classes."
—Judy Tejeda, ‘08, biology concentration
"As a junior, I decided to become a writing and rhetoric minor not only because I was interested in my previous writing classes, but because of the effect these writing classes have had on my overall academic experience. Writing classes have taught me different techniques that help in various classes, as well as push my writing and thought process to a new level. I believe my voice matters; writing classes have given me an opportunity to share my voice."
—Tiana Tyeskey, ‘09, SOAN concentration
"Writing allows you to express yourself. The thing with that is, within your own mind, there are limits. You will form sentences a particular way, use certain words that you've become accustomed to, or write in a sort of "you" bubble. While there is nothing wrong with that, I feel being a writing and rhetoric minor allows you to broaden your mind and allows you to see all that is out there. For me, I have my style and I have my comfort zone, but through the writing courses I've taken, I've stepped into areas that I never thought about going into or even knew existed."
—Liz Le, ‘09, English concentration
"In searching for a job, I was able to sell myself as a mathematical economics major and a writing and rhetoric minor - an attractive combination that demonstrated both my analytical and communication skills. As a writing and rhetoric minor, I stressed my development of the qualitative skills necessary for establishing and maintaining client relationships."
—Kyle Halks, ‘08, math and economics concentration
"I became a writing and rhetoric minor because I know that good writing is a valuable ability in almost any skilled profession. I know from interning at a banking firm that there are a lot of people in high paying jobs who could use improvement in their communication skills."
—Dan Muniz, '10, music concentration
"I’m interested in both creative writing and journalism. The writing and rhetoric minor gave me the opportunity to balance the artistic focus of creative writing classes with the structure of instruction in style and form. Classes in the writing and rhetoric department helped me focus on developing my writing, revising, and editing skills. They have taught me the importance of belonging to a community of writers and the value of input from both experienced and inexperienced writers. I took these classes, initially, because they were the closest thing to communications classes that our school had to offer. I took these classes, ultimately, because they showed me something new and different to try: a new way to critique my own or others’ writing, a different approach to writing."
—BettyJo Roby, '08, English concentration