about the Writing Fellows program

Find out more about the Writing Fellows program at our Spring 2008 information sessions! All majors welcome.

Tuesday, February 12, 8:00 p.m. at Chadbourne (Main Lounge)
Wednesday, February 13, 7:00 p.m. at Union South (check TITU)
Monday, February 18, 4:00 p.m. at H.C. White (Room 6191)
Thursday, February 21, 7:30 p.m. Red Gym (MSC Lounge)

what Fellows do: Writing Fellows are assigned to Writing Intensive or Comm-B courses in which they work closely with professors as well as student writers. Fellows read and critique drafts of two formal papers; in addition to making marginal comments, they write extensive endnotes designed to identify and explain key areas for revision. They seek to praise what works in a paper as well as point out what doesn't work, and they try to offer suggestions and strategies for revision rather than merely pointing out flaws. After returning these drafts, Fellows meet individually with each writer to discuss revision possibilities and strategies.

philosophy and goals: Two central beliefs guide this program. The first is that all writers, no matter how accomplished, can improve their writing by sharing work in progress and making revisions based on constructive criticism; the second is that collaboration among student peers is an especially effective mode of learning.

selection: Writing Fellows are chosen in a carefully designed and highly competitive application process. Applicants must submit a personal statement, transcript, two writing samples with explanations about why they chose those particular pieces of writing, and a letter of recommendation from a professor or teaching assistant. After an initial screening, we select about 50 candidates to interview. Based on the interviews, we then choose 30 new Fellows each year. All of them have demonstrated strong writing ability and interpersonal skills, intellectual curiosity about the writing process itself, and a commitment to helping their peers.

training: All Fellows, in their first semester with the program, enroll in English/Interdisciplinary Programs 316: Seminar on Tutoring Writing Across the Curriculum. This three-credit honors seminar, taught by Emily Hall, explores how writers write, how they learn to write, and how to help writers revise their work. Fellows read recent work from composition studies, practice commenting on student drafts, conduct original research on writers and writing, and reflect on their own experiences as writers and tutors. The seminar also provides support and a sense of community as new Fellows begin the task of responding critically and constructively to student writing. Fellows who have already completed the seminar participate in ongoing education sessions designed to expand the Fellows' repertoire of tutoring strategies.