Supported Courses

Peer Writing

Course-based writing assistants work closely with faculty and meet one-to-one with students on writing projects and oral presentations. Over the course of the semester they typically assist with multiple assignments at different stages of the writing process and provide insight into writing in specific disciplines, research strategies, managing the reading and writing load, and more.

During 2009-10 peer writing assistants were attached to 40 writing-focused courses and conducted more than 1,750 conferences with some 650 different Bates students.

Peer Writing – Winter 2011 Courses and Assistants

Hannah Arenstam ’11 – Cultural Anthropology – ANTH 101 (Danny Danforth)

Tristan Black-Ingersoll ’11 – Islam, the Muslim World, and the West – ANRE 266 (W2 – Heather Lindkvist)

Erin Bourgault ‘11 – AVWS 287 Women, Gender, Visual Culture (W2 – Erica Rand)

Flora Chan ’11 – Earth Surface Environments and Environmental Change – GEO 103 (Mike Retelle)

Katie D’Angelo ’11 – Political Imagination – POL 244 (Arlene MacLeod)

Caitlyn DeFiore ’12 – The Age of the American Revolution, 1763-1789 – HIST 241 (Joe Hall)

Rachel DiStefano ‘11 – Research Methods – PSYC 261 (W2 – Kathy Mathis)

Libby Egan ‘13 – Literacy in Preschool and Elementary Years – EDUC 245 (W2 – Anita Charles)

Brian Goldberg ’12 – The Age of the American Revolution, 1763-1789 – HIST 241 (Joe Hall)

Rachel Hastings ‘11 – The Brontes – ENG 121 (Lillian Nayder)

Molly Hereford ’11 – Philosophy from Descartes to Kant – PHIL 272 (Mark Okrent)

Katherine Hines ’11 – Research Methods  – PSYC 261 (W2 – Michael Sargent)

Ryan Katon ’12 – Greek Civilization – CMHI 106 (John Cole)

Dana Lindauer ‘11 – Greek Civilization – CMHI 106 (John Cole)

Deana Lorenzo ’13 – Japanese Literature and Society – ASJA 125 (W2 – Sarah Strong)

Matt Ohlheiser ‘11 – The Age of the American Revolution, 1763-1789 – HIST 241 (Joe Hall)

Dan Peach ’13 – Islam, the Muslim World, and the West – ANRE 266 (W2 – Heather Lindkvist)

Lindsay Reuter ‘11 – Women, Gender, Visual Culture – AVWS 287 (W2 – Erica Rand)

Michelle Schloss ’12 – Literacy in Preschool and Elementary Years – EDUC 245 (W2 – Anita Charles)

Sarah Stillman ’11 – Women, Gender, Visual Culture – AVWS 287 (W2 – Erica Rand)

Andrew Wong ’12 – Moral Philosophy – PHIL 256 (David Cummiskey)

Zoey Wortmann ’11 – Biomedical Ethics – PHIL 213 and Moral Philosophy – PHIL 256 (David Cummiskey)

Faculty comments:

“Working with the writing assistant to my FYS has yielded some unexpected benefits.  I’ve been able to talk through assignments with her in draft form and that’s helped me to fine-tune them before sending them out to the class. Based on our discussion of the assignment and its relation to the objectives of the course, the writing assistant in turn has been able to bolster the confidence of the first-years who already have good clear ideas for their papers when they meet with her but may be unsure of themselves.  For those who aren’t quite on topic, she is able to guide them to a better understanding of what’s being asked of them.

“I think the first years all welcome having an additional sounding board for their ideas who is not quite the authority figure they see their professor as. Having a writing assistant makes it a lot more manageable to stage assignments in multiple stages: students brainstorm and jot down their ideas then discuss them with someone; work on a first draft; that draft gets commented on; then they revise and turn in a final draft. Going through these various stages helps students internalize the idea that writing is an evolving, processual thing.

“Having a writing assistant to meet with students and comment on their drafts also makes students more self-conscious of writing for an audience. It’s also great to have an academically focussed senior serving as a role model for the first years.”