DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

Dear Dr. Zerbe,

 

My name is Ellen Fraser, and I am a senior at Elon University located in Elon, North Carolina. I am a double major studying English with a concentration in Professional Writing and Rhetoric and Art History with a Spanish minor.

 

Throughout my time as an undergraduate PWR concentration, I have concluded that, for me, professional writing and rhetoric is an art that uses written and verbal communication techniques to explain, persuade, and engage a variety of audiences in different contexts. Both classroom and internship experiences have taught me how to utilize my skills in doing all of this.

 

During Summer 2012 and Spring 2013, I had two separate internships where I focused on marketing and member outreach. The first was with a non-profit organization in Columbus, Ohio dedicated to the preservation of a historic neighborhood, and the second was for an art gallery in Mebane, North Carolina. Also, this past summer, I interned in development for The Smithsonian Associates, which is a non-profit organization focused on cultural education that is part of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

 

During all of these experiences, I had the opportunity to apply the rhetorical theories about which I had been learning in my professional writing and rhetoric classes to effectively tell the story of these organizations to their respective audiences through social media, e-mail marketing, invitations, community outreach documents, visual design, and word of mouth. I have learned how to identify specific target audiences for a company in terms of marketing, and how to come up with ideas for membership outreach and identify prospects by getting to know my audience. I am dedicated to developing effective marketing techniques for organizations with which I share a passion for their mission statement.

 

In this portfolio, you will see my skills categorized into the following groups: Writing to Inform, Writing to Persuade, and Writing to Engage. These sections are based upon my definition of rhetoric, and how I have applied theory to professional settings. Each document within the section is accompanied by contextual narratives that introduce the context of my work, and the rhetorical choices that I made when composing these written/visual documents.  

 

As a professional career, I am interested in doing either marketing or development work for an arts-related non-profit organization. I am passionate about cultural education and its importance for people of all ages, so this is a mission that I believe I could effectively share with an audience. Thank for taking your time to look around my portfolio! Enjoy!

 

Sincerely,

 

Ellen M. Fraser

 

 

 

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.