Dr. Staggers,

Welcome, and thank you for looking at my Professional Writing and Rhetoric portfolio.

This site serves as an archive of my work and identity throughout my time as a member of Elon University’s Class of 2012. My strongest purpose in putting this portfolio together is to compile works that exemplified my understanding of rhetoric and its application to the professional world. The most obvious example of this for me is my work in journalism, as it is a field I’ve been working in since I was a freshman.

Much of my academic and professional identity was honed around my experiences as news editor at the student newspaper, The Pendulum; and my involvement in Periclean Scholars, an immersive civic engagement program.

Periclean is part of the broader organization Project Pericles, which was started by philanthropist Eugene Lang in the early 2000s. At Elon, students apply to the program at the end of their freshman year and begin as sophomores with a group of thirty or so students learning about an area of focus and developing partnerships with NGOs in that location. Each class focuses on a different region; my class has focused on India, and is partnered with an innovative health nonprofit in rural Maharashtra. Our projects have included supporting an adolescent girls program for the NGO, hosting a conference regarding corporate social responsibility, and producing a documentary film about health alternatives in India — a project I’m directing.

While much of my passion for writing as a social action has been shaped by Periclean, my academic and professional identity is deeply connected to my work in journalism. In my mind, journalism is intricately connected to professional writing and rhetoric because reporters have to balance audience and purpose concerns every day, on top of being able to write effectively in a field that demands a particular style. It's important for journalists to understand the underlying concepts that dictate their heuristics when approaching stories.

My work shown in this portfolio reflects a broad range of skills I’ve developed throughout my time in college: from redesigning and editing the Periclean newsletter to writing rhetorical reports for nonprofits, my work reflects an understanding of the role of writing and rhetoric in professional settings.

It’s my hope that you’ll find in my portfolio a clear focus on the importance of writing and rhetoric as a social action — as well as strong ethos. Between my work in Periclean and journalism, the ability to write well with an informed perspective is invaluable to me.

I hope you enjoy looking through my narratives and examples of work.

Thank you again,

Jack Dodson