Tufts' jolly good Fellows

To students who find literary criticism terrifying and consider semicolons torture devices, Tufts' two-credit English requirement, and the continuous paper writing that many courses involve, can be more than a bit intimidating.

But all is not lost for such students; with a little aid from the Tufts Writing Fellows, even the most essay-wary students can turn out sharp papers.

The Writing Fellows program, instituted in 1999, aims to help students with the quality of their writing and to facilitate the writing process in general.

"The goal of the program is to help students become better writers by paying attention to the process of writing," senior Fellow Tom Chen said.

Students who become Fellows come from various majors and backgrounds. To many students' surprise, the Writing Fellows program is not limited to English majors -- regardless of the topic, good writing is needed in every subject.

Each fellow may have different reasons for applying to the program but many of them have one thing in common: they once needed help with their writing as well, and were inspired and motivated by the writing fellows who worked with them.

"I had writing fellows in my Metaphysics class, during the spring of my junior year," senior fellow Jane Rutstein said. "My writing fellow was extremely helpful, and I began to ask and learn more about the program and its philosophy."

Though the program was set up to benefit students, some are resistant to seeking help from one of their peers. "More students objected to the help five years ago when the program started, so now it is a mandatory session [for certain classes] that all students must attend," Nadia Medina, Director of the Writing Fellows, said.

Fellows use various techniques when working with students. Chen, who has worked with the program for four semesters, likes to stress the importance of planning before writing the paper itself. "I think it is important to clarify the assignment and to discuss the students' ideas before turning to the actual writing," Chen said.

Rutstein's sessions tend to focus on discussing the flow of papers. "I like the sessions to be a discussion with the writer about how someone else may understand what he or she has written," she said. "Sometimes, the writer and I alternate reading the paper aloud, so we can hear how the words flow and sound."

Rustein thinks the program helps students look at their papers from a new perspective. "I hope that the student understands how his or her paper may be understood when read by an outside person," Rutstein said.

Although many students would not seek a writing tutor, those who have used the program find it to be beneficial in constructing good papers. "I know how to better organize my papers so that they are more coherent and flow from point to point," sophomore Christina Cheung said. "It also allows me to go through my papers more thoroughly, rather than just writing a paper last minute and handing it in without reading through it once."

Freshman Matthew Fiorello was required to meet with a fellow for his Philosophy of Religion class. "The session helped me organize my writing structure better to focus more on unifying my paper around a major concept" he said.

In order to get honest feedback, Fellows distribute evaluations. "Mid-semester evaluations are given so that we can get an understanding of what students feel they want changed the most and we try to gear the program depending on the certain themes that come out of the evaluations" Medina said.

It is not only the students who benefit from the sessions: most Fellows feel that they derive benefits (other than the $500 per semester stipend) from helping their classmates. "Being able to identify problems in other people's writing has allowed me to see my writing with a more critical eye," Rutstein said. "Since clear writing is crucial for almost any job, I think being able to adjust and improve my writing will be a great asset in the future."

According to several fellows, the job is also enjoyable.

"When a student that I'm working with realizes the real point of his thesis or something that he did not see before, it is really rewarding," Rutstein said.