The mastery of the written word is a lifelong skill that will advance your career and nourish your soul. As a writing minor, you’ll study writing with a mix of theory and practice, honing your talent for careers in journalism, marketing, law, business, and any job in which communicating can serve your future.

Minor Writing
writing up close In and Beyond the Classroom
ADVISING AND MENTORSHIP
The writing curriculum divides writing into two categories: writing whose principal purpose is to persuade or explain, and writing whose principal purpose is self-expression. Students will work with full-time faculty – who are themselves published writers – to develop the different skills needed for these two kinds of writing. You’ll learn from their creative teaching. And outside the classroom, they will share your passions for literature and poetry, and also for your future success.


hands-on experience
In Dr. Seth Clabough’s Creative Writing course in January term, students partnered with the West Trade Review, a literary magazine, to review contest submissions for the journal’s inaugural fiction writing contest. Their feedback to the editors spoke to the various craft concepts they were learning in the classroom. They each submitted work to the journal as well, and Zoe Patterson ’22’s Walls was accepted for publication.
high-impact Internships
With a variety of internships at their fingertips, writing majors can put their training into practice. RMC’s extensive internship program matches students with tailor-made experiences to help them develop marketable skills as they develop a lifelong appreciation and enjoyment of the written word. Recent sites include:
- Brandylane Publishing
- Richmond Magazine
- Circle S Studio
Global Education
An appreciation of writing often begins with writers and the places that inspired them. A January term travel course in Ireland recently explored Dublin, home to authors William Butler Yeats and James Joyce. Alongside other students of the English department at RMC, writing students can go beyond the texts and open a new horizon in their study of the craft.
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ENG185course in critical reading and writing, completed by all RMC first-years
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1833the year the Washington Literary Society was founded at RMC
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1.7MEnglish majors currently in the U.S. workforce
writing in full Courses You Won’t Want to Miss
wRIT 379
GRANT WRITING
Grant writing will introduce students to the fundamental research and writing skills critical to the work of grant writing. Combining technical and persuasive skills, projects are preparation for grant writing in the non-profit, academic, and other spaces.
ENGL 376
FEATURE WRITING
This hands-on course will teach students how to write feature articles and to submit them for publication to magazines and weeklies. Students will learn ways to develop marketable ideas and to write feature stories, profiles, how-to articles, and more. The class includes field trips to local magazine publishers and visits from guest editors and writers.
WRIT 495
WRITING CAPSTONE
For majors, this senior project allows students to collaborate directly with a professor on a project that reflects an advanced topic, demonstrating mastery of writing in advance of earning a degree
Opportunities Worth Grabbing

the Washington Literary Society
Founded in 1833, the Washington Literary Society is the oldest student organization at Randolph-Macon College.
The society sponsors activities in literature and the arts, such as poetry readings, lectures, coffee houses following drama guild productions, film viewings and discussions, and discussions with visiting authors and poets. It promotes the arts on campus and publishes Stylus, the college’s literary magazine.
the Yellow Jacket
The College’s long-running student newspaper relaunched as a digital publication online.
Buzzworthy The latest from RMC Writing
Taking the Editor’s View
Creative writing class partners with literary magazine to judge fiction contest Students in a typical creative writing class end the…

Faculty Q&A: Modernist Authors on the Popular Lecture Tour with Robert Volpicelli
Randolph-Macon English Assistant Professor Volpicelli describes the modernists—who include Oscar Wilde, W.B. Yeats, Gertrude Stein, Rabindranath Tagore, and W.H. Auden—as…

A Writer at Heart: Jordan Chappell ’20
English and art history major. Mathematics, writing, and classical studies minor. World traveler. Intramural sand-volleyball player. Randolph-Macon College student Jordan Chappell ’20…
