Illinois Wesleyan · The Writer’s Field Guide
Every interaction can help someone become more.
This is the field guide for anyone who writes for Illinois Wesleyan — what to say, how to say it, and the words that make us sound like one university. Whatever you’re drafting, it should carry one promise: do well, do good, become more.
Section 01 · The Essentials
The good stuff. One page.
Before you write anything, start here. This is the short version that fits in your head — and the language you can lift straight into a draft.
Illinois Wesleyan · Brand Essentials
What We Believe
Brand Promise
Brand Platform
Strategic Positioning
Illinois Wesleyan helps students build an education that shapes their lives.
The Promise, in plain language
Develop the knowledge, skills, and confidence to succeed.
Use those abilities to contribute to others and make a meaningful difference.
Keep discovering your strengths, expand your possibilities, and become the best version of yourself.
Four Message Themes
Growth
Discover your strengths.
Humanity
Be known and supported.
Participation
Learn by getting involved.
Success With Purpose
Build a life that makes a difference.
Proof
People, experiences, opportunities, and outcomes.
- •Personal faculty mentorship
- •Meaningful relationships and a supportive community
- •Hands-on learning and real-world experiences
- •Leadership opportunities
- •Career and graduate-school preparation
- •A broad, adaptable liberal arts education
- •Research, internships, athletics, arts, and service
- •Study-abroad opportunities
- •Five Centers of Excellence
- •More than 175 years of shaping lives
Brand Story
For more than 175 years, Illinois Wesleyan has helped students build an education that shapes their lives. Through meaningful relationships, hands-on experiences, and a culture of participation, students discover their strengths, expand their perspectives, and prepare for successful lives with purpose. Every student's journey is different. The opportunity is the same. Become More.
Section 02 · Proof You Can Become More
Proof you can become more.
At Illinois Wesleyan, Become More is more than a promise. You can see it in what our students experience here and what they go on to accomplish.
Ready to Do Well
An Illinois Wesleyan education prepares students not simply for their first job, but for wherever their lives and careers take them.
98.5%
of the Class of 2025 were employed or continuing their education within six months of graduation.
#7
nationally and #1 in Illinois on Zippia's list of Best Colleges for Getting a Job.
$70,871
average earnings ten years after attending, more than $30,000 above the national midpoint reported by the College Scorecard.
#1
among small colleges in Illinois for highest-earning graduates.
Known, Challenged and Supported
At IWU, students aren't numbers in a lecture hall. They learn alongside professors who know them, challenge them and help them discover what they're capable of becoming.
17
students in the average class.
12:1
student-to-faculty ratio.
88%
of full-time faculty hold a Ph.D. or terminal degree in their field.
93%
of students who complete four years at IWU graduate on time, well above national averages.
Classes are taught by faculty, not graduate assistants.
More Than One Path
Illinois Wesleyan is a place for students who don't want to be defined by just one interest, talent or ambition. Across the liberal arts, business, nursing, sciences and fine arts, students are encouraged to connect disciplines, pursue different interests and create an education that's uniquely their own. That's what it means to be The AND University.
Learning Becomes Doing
Students don't have to wait until after graduation to put what they're learning into practice. Here, ideas aren't meant to stay in the classroom. They're meant to become something.
73%
of IWU students participate in at least one internship, and more than 28% report completing multiple internships.
41%
of the Class of 2025 participated in undergraduate research.
Petrick Idea Center
brings students from every major together around creativity, entrepreneurship, collaboration and solving real-world challenges.
Opportunity That Changes What's Possible
An Illinois Wesleyan education can change the trajectory of a life.
Top 2.9%
of U.S. colleges and universities for promoting social mobility, ranking 62nd among 2,137 institutions in the Chetty college mobility study.
95%+
of incoming students qualify for scholarship or grant assistance.
50%+
on average, more than half of tuition is covered by scholarships and grants for incoming students.
A transformative private university education may be more within reach than families think.
A Community Where You Can Be More
Students come to Illinois Wesleyan from different backgrounds, places and perspectives, but become part of a close-knit community where they can belong, contribute and grow.
25
countries and communities across the United States represented by students.
100+
student organizations, creating opportunities to lead, serve, compete, create and connect.
185
Academic All-America honors earned by Titan student-athletes, ranking ninth among Division III institutions and 24th across all NCAA divisions.
Do Well. Do Good. Become More.
The numbers matter because of what they represent. Students who are known. Interests that become possibilities. Ideas that become action. Education that becomes opportunity. And graduates prepared not only to do well, but to do good with what they know, who they are and who they are still becoming.
Illinois Wesleyan University
Do Well. Do Good. Become More.
Section 03 · Writing Frameworks
Find the right framework.
Search the guide, pick the framework that fits what you’re writing, work the channel checklist, and start from copy that’s already on brand.
6 frameworks
Illinois Wesleyan · The Writer’s Field Guide
Message Theme · Growth
The Growth Story
Show someone discovering a strength they didn't know they had. The most versatile IWU frame — it turns any program, class, or opportunity into a story about becoming more.
Use it when
Recruiting, academic program pages, student features, campaign copy — anywhere the reader is asking "Who will I become?"
How to build it
- 01Open on the person before the change — a question they were sitting with, not a credential.
- 02Name the moment: the class, mentor, lab, stage, or trip that opened something up.
- 03Show the strength they discovered, in plain language.
- 04Close on what's now possible — forward-looking, never final.
- 05Land the platform: Become More.
Prove it
- •Which faculty mentor made this possible?
- •Which hands-on experience, research, internship, or study-abroad moment anchors it?
- •What outcome — a job, a grad program, a contribution — can you name honestly?
Say this, not that
World-class academics
Faculty who know your name and push your thinking
Best-in-class outcomes
Graduates prepared to do well and do good
Unlock your potential
Discover strengths you didn't know you had
Channel checklist
Copy templates · Web and beyond
[BRACKETS] = replace before sending
Every framework ladders up to the same promise: Do well. Do good. Become more.
Section 04 · Find Your Lens
One story. Your version.
Pick who you’re writing for. The promise stays the same — what you lead with, and the words you choose, change.
They're asking
Who will I become?
Emphasize
Growth, exploration, belonging, confidence.
Core message
Illinois Wesleyan helps you discover your strengths, explore new possibilities, and become more fully yourself.
Ready-to-use example
"You don't have to have everything figured out. You just need a place that helps you ask better questions. #BecomeMore"
Section 05 · How We Talk
From idea to inbox.
Two working references for drafting: the hierarchy of what we say, and how the writing shifts by channel.
Section 06 · Resources
Where the assets live.
The full brand guide, plus the files and links you reach for while you write.
Live link
Brand Guide Hub
The full brand guide — fonts, colors, logos, and more.
Open →
Live link
PDF Brand Messaging guide
Download the official IWU brand messaging guide (PDF).
Open →
Live link
Official Website
iwu.edu — the public-facing university site.
Open →
Live links
Social Media
Follow IWU across every platform.
Coming soon
Templates
Documents, decks, letterhead, and email.
Link coming soon
Coming soon
Videos
Brand and campaign video assets.
Link coming soon
Coming soon
Photography
Approved campus, student, and academic imagery.
Link coming soon
Coming soon
Presentations
Branded slide decks for talks and pitches.
Link coming soon
Section 07 · Who to Ask
Not sure? Ask a human.
Need a review, an approval, or a second opinion on your copy? Here’s who owns what.
Reach out to the owner for your area, or contact Mark Gibson for overall brand and messaging questions.
Section 08 · The Full Story
Want the whole framework?
Background, context, and the deeper reading behind the language you’re using — for when a draft needs more than the essentials.