Princeton Writing Program
Director
Kerry Walk
Associate Director
Amanda Irwin Wilkins
Assistant Director
Gloria L. Fisk
Judith Swan
Executive Committee
Jill S. Dolan, English, Lewis Center for the Arts
Jeff Dolven, English
James L. Gould, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Sharad Malik, Electrical Engineering
Thomas J. Silhavy, Molecular Biology
Kerry Walk, Writing Program
David S. Wilcove, Woodrow Wilson School, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Stacy E. Wolf, Lewis Center for the Arts, Theater
Lecturer
Raphael C. Allison
Alan Allport
Edward Baring
Gretchen E. Boger
James Byrne
Christopher W. Close
Anne DeWitt
Carolyn Dillian
Kristin Dombek
Stephen Donatelli
Annmarie S. Drury
Aaron Freundschuh
Elena Glasberg
Ariane Liazos
Rebekah Peeples Massengill
Noelle J. Molé
Xenia K. Morin
Andrew Mossin
Michael L. Murray
Andrea M. Scott
Keith M. Shaw
Gregory Spears
William Westerman
Marion C. Wrenn
Natasha Zaretsky
Writing is integral to intellectual pursuits of every kind, whether in the humanities, the social or natural sciences, mathematics, or engineering. The Princeton Writing Program was established to encourage excellence in writing at the University through writing seminars for freshmen and a Writing Center for all undergraduates.
Writing seminars have a common goal—for students, through practice and guidance, to master essential strategies and techniques of college-level inquiry and argument. Students learn to frame interesting questions, make original claims, structure complex ideas, integrate sources of various kinds, and revise for greater cogency and clarity. In addition to writing frequently and completing four major assignments of increasing complexity, students receive intensive instruction in academic writing, submit drafts for review, and attend one-on-one conferences with their instructor. They also learn to navigate the University library and receive instruction in essential library research skills. To provide students with a worthwhile occasion for writing, each seminar is based on an intellectually stimulating topic, chosen specifically to animate students’ writing with compelling questions, debates, and problems. Among the many different writing seminars offered are courses on important historical figures and events, urgent social issues, scientific breakthroughs, and influential artistic traditions. The writing seminar is required of all freshmen, who are assigned in late July to a term, fall or spring, in which to take the course and who make their topic selection based on their interests.
The Writing Center offers student writers free one-on-one conferences with experienced fellow writers trained to consult on assignments in any discipline. Students may bring writing projects to the Writing Center in any form—ideas, rough notes, or a first or final draft. Writing Center fellows offer advice about the writing process, from getting started to revising, and can work with students on essential elements of academic writing, such as thesis, organization, use of sources, and clarity of ideas and sentences. The Writing Center also offers workshops and hand-outs on academic writing, and houses a library of reference material on writing and the teaching of writing.
For more information about the Princeton Writing Program, visit the program website.