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The Story Behind the Writing Fellows Program
Mission of the Writing Fellows Program
Writing Center Sign-up

In the spring of 1990, the Dean of the Faculty, Robert A. McCaughey, appointed a cross-curricular Writing Project Committee whose job it was to evaluate student writing at the College and to recommend ways to improve it. To ascertain how Barnard instructors across the disciplines perceived their students’ writing, the committee administered a survey to the whole faculty in the fall of 1990. The director of the Writing Project also communicated with a number of peer institutions (chief among them, Brown, Columbia, Harvard, Mount Holyoke, Smith, Swarthmore, and Wellesley) and reported back to the committee on how these schools were dealing with undergraduate writing. The results were collated as the Writing Project Report and submitted to the Administration in November 1990, along with a series of recommendations about future approaches to writing at Barnard.

The committee recommended:
• that Barnard establish a permanent Writing Center (back then, it was called The Writing Room and it was in its tentative first semester;)
• that the College train a group of highly-qualified undergraduate peer tutors in writing (the Barnard Writing Fellows) to staff the Writing Center and to work in writing-intensive courses across the curriculum;
• that First-Year English and First-Year Seminar sections be capped at approximately 15 students (in 1990, 20 students per section was the norm);
• that ESL classes (English as a Second Language) be redesigned and supervised by a specialist in ESL, to be hired by the College;
• that more than one section of upper-level Expository Writing (now called Essay Writing) be offered by the English Department;
• that the College support ongoing faculty workshops in the teaching and uses of writing;
• that Barnard name a Director of Writing and a permanent Writing Committee to institute and oversee the Barnard Writing Program;
• that the entire faculty enter into a dialogue about what constitutes strong writing and how to teach and utilize it at all levels and in all disciplines, so that Barnard students would experience continuity in their writing over the four undergraduate years
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MISSION OF THE WRITING FELLOWS PROGRAM

The Writing Fellows act as the naive readers for students' papers. We believe that every paper needs a reader; writing is an inherently collaborative endeavor. This is why Writing Fellows are attached to classes encompassing multiple disciplines. Writing Fellows read for clarity, not content. As a result, Writing Fellows are trained to focus on holistic issues like organization and development over more mechanical issues such grammar and citation. Consequently, not every Writing Fellow is an English major; some Writing Fellows major in Anthropology, Urban Studies while others major in Biochemistry and Biology.

What to expect from your Writing Fellow: An informative discussion about the strengths and weaknesses of the paper, a non-judgmental assessment organization/development within the paper and an impartial reading of your writing. Writing Fellows are to be seen as your peers instead of Writing tutors. While the opinion of the Writing Fellow is relevant to the revision of your paper, you are not bound to her suggestions. The Writing Fellows do not have any say in a paper's grade, although lateness/absences from conferences may influence the Professor's assessment of your work.

What not to expect from your Writing Fellow: A grade or similar assessment. Please do not ask your Writing Fellow what X paper merits or how it measures up against other papers she's read. If you have any questions regarding the assignment or the rubric from which the paper will be graded, please ask your Professor.
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WRITING CENTER SIGN UP

Starting in the Fall 2008 semester, all sign ups will take place through our online sign up system; please click WCOnline for access.

If it is your first time using WCOnline, you will have to register for an account before you can sign up for a conference.

If you have any questions, please call or email Ditty Vick, Senior Writing Fellow, at barnardwriting@gmail.com.

WRITING CENTER POLICIES

Sign ups can take place up to a week in advance.

Students may sign up for no more than 2 conferences per week and 1 conference per day.

HOW DO I CANCEL MY APPOINTMENT?

All reservations and cancellations are made through WCOnline. To cancel an appointment, please follow the instructions given in the confirmation email you received after making the appointment.

HOW DOES THE WAITING LIST WORK?

If there are no times available when you would like to make an appointment, please click on the link that says "Is the time you want already reserved? Sign up to be notified of an opening in this schedule!"

Important Notes:
• IF YOU MISS TWO APPOINTMENTS, YOU MAY NOT SIGN UP FOR CONFERENCES FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR. You may, however, drop in.
•   IF YOU ARE MORE THAN 15 MINUTES LATE FOR A CONFERENCE, YOU RISK LOSING IT TO SOMEONE WHO IS ON THE WAITING LIST OR TO A DROP IN. Please let us know if you are going to be late.
• BARNARD STUDENTS WISHING TO WORK ON PAPERS FOR COLUMBIA FACULTY MUST BRING THEIR PROFESSORS' WRITTEN PERMISSION TO THEIR CONFERENCES. Please take one of the forms outside of the Writing Center, and ask your Columbia professor to fill it out.
• Columbia students are welcome to use the Writing Center for papers assigned in courses taught by Barnard Professors.
• Students who sign-up for conferences in the Writing Center cannot ask to have their papers read in advance.
• Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Call Pam Cobrin, Director of the Writing Center, at (212) 854-2724.

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