Writing for Development

1.5 Credits · Level: Graduate

This course is designed to provide graduate students studying development the opportunity to research more deeply into their area of specialization within development, and to learn to write more effectively for professional and public audiences. This course will help you build your writing and editing skills to enable you to communicate more effectively to professional and public audiences through a set of varied writing assignments focused on your area of specialization. During the seven weeks of the course, you will write three different assignments focused on your area of interest, all approximately 800 words in length: (1) an “academic minute” (explaining an academic paper to your boss), (2) a blog on a topic of your choice (that we will try to publish on a website), and (3) a project “concept note” (pitching an idea for a project in your area of interest). You will write, re-write, and polish these products to the highest professional standards, incorporating feedback from your classmates and from the professor. You will also practice editing and providing feedback to your peers in a professional and constructive manner. By the end of the course, you will have a deeper knowledge of your area of interest, stronger skills in professional writing and editing, and three writing products that you can use as writing samples. The course is particularly well-suited for second-year master’s degree students that are completing their degree and are about the enter the job market, but first year students are welcome to join as well. The course will be offered twice in the spring semester: the first half of the semester on Fridays from 12:30-3:00 ( GHDP 6052 ), and the second half of the semester on Wednesdays from 2:00-4:30 ( GHDP 6053 ). Enrollment is limited to 12 students per course.