Resources for Teaching Writing
The Writing Program supports the teaching of writing by organizing and encouraging faculty conversations about writing across the curriculum, writing within the disciplines, and writing beyond the academy. In addition to hosting conversations about writing, we create, collect and share written materials that pertain to the teaching of writing. These handouts include discussion of writing processes and genres, sample writing assignments, and syllabi from writing intensive classes across the curriculum. Some are written for faculty and others are written for students. None are intended to be prescriptive but are made available so that faculty can borrow and adapt as desired.
Writing Tutors and Writing and Academic Mentors
Peer Writing Tutors
Peer Writing Tutors are trained to be the authorized help for students, to ask probing questions about the papers they read, and to make positive suggestions for improvement of those papers. Peer Writing Tutors work in college writing classes and hold evening drop-in hours at the Writing Center in the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Research, Davis Family Library 225.
FYS Mentors for Academics and Writing
The First-Year Seminar Mentor for Academics and Writing serves as a mentor and writing tutor for first-year students, assisting them with writing and oral presentation skills, time and project management.The Mentor can work with students in your first-year seminar individually or in groups, either during class time or outside of class, for up to 60 hours over the course of the semester. The Mentors will be trained, supervised, and paid by CTLR.
Writing Program
The Writing Program inspires critical and creative thinking about language, story, argument and intercultural communication. Our courses privilege a student-centered workshop approach that is inquiry-based.
Beyond our own courses, the program oversees and supports second level writing-intensive courses (CW) offered within the disciplines. We also engage with any faculty interested in conversations about writing and the teaching of writing. In collaboration with the CTLR and other offices and programs, the Writing Program hosts a variety of events for faculty that pertain to writing pedagogy and to issues of difference and community in education.
A vital component of the Writing Program is the Writing Center and its hubs. Here, we find Peer Writing Tutors working with students across the curriculum on their writing. In addition, Writing Program faculty and professional staff offer one on one tutorials in critical thinking and writing for all students.
Quick Writing Resources for Student Writers
Writing Resources for Student Writers
go/writingresources Helpful writing information for Middlebury students
go/middwrite WordPress site with writing tips
go/researchfaq Need help starting a research paper or project? Look here.
go/appessay Learn the most effective way to write application essays for internships, jobs, fellowships, and graduate school.
Writing Center Information
go/writingcenter WordPress site for Writing Center, tips for writing, hours for drop-ins
go/writingctlr Writing Center information on the CTLR site
go/writingtweets Tweets from the Writing Center
Library Guides
go/guides LIS guide for research
Off campus: www.go.middlebury.edu/ctlr
Links to Helpful Information about Writing
Making appointments with Writing Faculty
To Meet With Writing Program Faculty and staff, you'll want to plan ahead when possible and schedule appointments with us via our computer based scheduling system, AccuTrack. The student workers or faculty or staff in the Center for Teaching, Learning and Research (CTLR) can show you how to do this, or you can use the online link at the Writing Center website Scheduling usually happens a few days in advance, but sometimes students find last minute openings. Some students schedule weeks ahead to ensure that they get the help they need on a particular paper.If we have no openings in AccuTrack that fit your schedule, feel free to email Jennifer Bates(jbates@middlebury.edu) or Mary Ellen Bertolini (mbertoli@middlebury.edu), or Catharine Wright (cwwright@middlebury.edu) (Catharine Wright is available W15 & S15 only), to inquire about alternate times. Sometimes we can create alternate times and/or accommodate last minute requests. You may try one or all of us.
It is very acceptable to meet with two different tutors, at different stages in the writing process, on the same paper (professional then peer, peer then peer, peer then professional).
If we are unable to meet with you on a particular paper due to scheduling/time constraints, we urge you to work with a Peer Writing Tutor during their drop-in hours in the CTLR from 7:30 p.m.- midnight, Sunday-Thursday evenings. Peer Writing Tutors, also, hold drop-in hours in all five Commons. Find the most current the hours and locations here.
Sessions with peer writing tutors usually run about 30 minutes per student.
Writing Center
Situated in the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Research, the Writing Center provides students the opportunity to meet with writing program faculty and staff and peer writing tutors at every stage of the writing process.
brainstorm_sheet_for_effective_application_essays
Download this brainstorm sheet to help you begin the process of constructing your application essay.
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Sample Grading Criteria for Students
Participation Grades: The following descriptions provide some thoughts on the grades which might be assigned to your participation. Please recognize that the grades you receive reflect my evaluation of your involvement in class.
- A = Exceptional. Does a great deal more than expected. Speaks out often and thoughtfully. Initiates discussions in class. Lets others speak. Acknowledges the value in the opinions of others in ways which validate those opinions. Attends and is prepared for all classes. Does all the reading. Answers questions when asked. Follows directions.
- B = Above average. Does more than expected. Speaks out thoughtfully. Occasionally initiates discussions in class. Lets others speak. Attends all classes and is prepared for all classes. Does all the reading. Answers questions when asked. Follows directions.
- C = Does everything that is expected. Attends all classes. Speaks out occasionally. Does all the reading. Answers questions when asked. Follows directions.
- D = A seriously flawed effort. Misses class. Never speaks out. Comes to class unprepared. Does not follow directions.
- F = An utter failure. Misses more than 10% of the classes. Belittles others. Drags the discussion down. Demonstrates a lack of knowledge of the reading.
REVIEW OF WRITING: 10%
To become better writers we must all read our own work critically. We will comment on each other's writing to achieve this goal. Points will be assigned based on the quality and appropriateness of your comments, not volume.
PORTFOLIO: 10%
Recognition of growth as a writer and thinker is facilitated by documentation. The portfolio will provide evidence of your mastery of the content of the course and your ability to write and think clearly.
WRITING: 70% of total grade with the following point
distribution
- Assignments (Response Papers) 1-3: 10% each
- Response Paper 4: 15%
- Final Project: 25%
The grades I give will be based on the final drafts. These grades will be based on the holistic philosophy described below. Late papers will be graded down one full grade (e.g., from B+ to C+) for each day that the paper is late.
Midterm Evaluation
1) What is your overall impression of this class so far?
2) What aspects of this class work (especially) well for you?
3) What does not work so well?
4) On a scale from 1-5 (with 5 being the highest), how
would you rank:
a) the amount of what you have learned so far
b) how you feel integrated into the class/ opportunities
to contribute
c) clearness of instructor's explanations
d) effectiveness of teaching/ learning
e) the relevance/ interest in our discussions
f) how much you enjoy being in this class
5) Writing: Do you feel that the writing assignments are
clear?
6) Does the variety of assignment (types) work for you?
7) Have you learned something about writing so far? What
do you consider most beneficial? Least? Are there types
of writing or special needs that this class should address
and train more or altogether?
8) Do you get enough and clear feedback?
9) How do you evaluate your instructor's availability and
effectiveness in helping you?
10) Other comments:
Assessing Student Writing
Midterm Portfolio Checklist
Contents • Three polished essays plus a sampling of early and Grading Criteria ESSAY ONE: PLACE ESSAY Use of vivid details Focus • Strategies for focusing your reader in the significance of Sentences • Use vivid, working verbs. ESSAY TWO: SETTING ESSAY Use of detail (in addition to criteria for Place Essay) • Use quotations from the text to illustrate your arguments. Focus (in addition to criteria for Place Essay) • Your introduction should end with a thesis statement. Flow • Be sure your argument builds step by step toward your Sentences (in addition to criteria for Place Essay) • Be careful to integrate quoted material into your ESSAY THREE: RESEARCHED ESSAY Use of Detail (in addition to criteria for Place and Setting Essays) • Use quotations, paraphrases and summaries from Focus (in addition to criteria for Place and Setting Essays) • Use your introduction to contextualize your topic and to Flow (in addition to criteria for Place and Setting Essays) • Use transition strategies to keep your readers with you Sentences (in addition to criteria for Place and Setting • Choose your words carefully. Aim at concise, precise
middle drafts (preferably including editors' comments) for
each. Be sure each essay is titled and that you number
your pages. For the researched essay, include copies of
sources from which your have paraphrased.
• One cover statement (2 paragraphs at most) in which you
briefly describe both the strengths of the writing in your
portfolio and what still needs work. End the statement by
suggesting an agenda for your development as a writer
for the remaining weeks of the semester.
• Use details beyond just the visual.
• Show rather than tell.
• Some details should provide background; some should
point us toward the significance of your
place/experience.
• Bonus: Push a cluster of details to a metaphor, which
controls a portion of your essay.
your place should be included in your title, your
introductory paragraph, your concluding paragraph, your
use of significant details, your use of imagery, and your
reflective sentences.
• Vary your sentence types and lengths.
• Be concise.
• Punctuate accurately.
• Proofread for spelling.
Cite line or page numbers. Indent quotations when
appropriate (over 5 lines or 50 words).
• Each paragraph should make one point toward developing
your thesis
planned ending, without anticlimaxes or irrelevant
digressions.
sentences smoothly.
sources to support your arguments. Cite your sources
both in the text of your essay and in a "Works Consulted"
page at the end using MLA style.
focus your readers' attention on its significance.
• Your introduction should end with a thesis statement.
• Each paragraph should make one point toward developing
your thesis.
throughout the argument.
• Be sure your argument builds step by step toward your
planned ending, without anticlimaxes or irrelevant
digressions.
Essays)
language.
• Be careful to integrate quoted or paraphrased material
into your paragraphs smoothly.
Midterm Assessments
Grading Criteria for Midterm Portfolio
Adapted from Donald M. Murray, Learning by Teaching
MATERIAL
Is there an abundance of information?
Is it specific? Is it accurate? Is it honest?
Is it used effectively to develop and document what the writer has to say?
FOCUS
Has the writer found his or her subject?
Has the writer made the subject worth reading about?
Is the writing focused on the subject?
Is the subject limited - developed and completed?
Are the reader's questions answered?
Does the piece have a meaning?
STRUCTURE
Is the writing ordered?
Are the reader's questions answered when they are asked?
Are the title and opening honest? Engaging?
Do they lead the reader towards the subject?
Is each point documented?
Does the ending work to bring the piece to a satisfying conclusion?
LANGUAGE
Does the writer have a strong voice?
Is it appropriate, consistent, and effective?
Does the writer get out of the way of the information being delivered?
Does the writer use language honestly?
Is the writer's meaning clear?
Does the writer use the simplest language appropriate to the subject and the audience?
Does the writer break the conventions of usage, mechanics, and spelling only to clarify meaning?
Assessing Student Writing
Writing and Teaching Retreat
All faculty are invited to the Annual Writing and Teaching Retreat where they have a chance to plan assignments, fine-tune syllabi, meet colleagues from other divisions and benefit from their teaching experiences. Presentations and panels introduce approaches to teaching that have proven successful in different disciplines, while small-group discussions give each faculty member a chance to work on particular assignments and syllabi.
Peer Writing Tutors
The Paul W. Ward '25 Memorial Prize
The Paul W. Ward '25 Memorial Prize competition recognizes annually those first-year students who are judged by the faculty to have produced outstanding essays in writing classes during that academic year.
The prize was established in 1978 by Paul W. Ward's widow, Dorothy Cate Ward '28, their daughter Marren Ward Meehan '62, and their son-in-law Tom Meehan '62. In her letter to the College Mrs. Ward wrote:
"This prize is offered in memory of Paul W. Ward, whose life-long career as a journalist and diplomatic reporter bought him both the Pulitzer Prize and the French Legion of Honor. During his long career he emphasized the use of basic English as a writer's most necessary tool. Precise and exact usage of words, exact meanings, phrases expressed lucidly and gracefully, seemed to him the most direct and understandable means of communicating with his readers. We, his family, hope these beliefs and standards will furnish the criteria on which this prize will be judged."
And so they have, every year, since 1978.
Teaching Resources
The Center for Teaching, Learning, and Research hosts discussions, round tables, and talks about teaching at Middlebury and beyond.