“They came in droves,” said Bridget Fullerton. “Maybe it’s the spicy Cheetos and chill beats; maybe it’s breaking through COVID solitude. Whatever it is, I’m happy to see students writing together.”

Fullerton, a lecturer in humanities and acting director of Writing@�ֲ���ý, oversees Thesis Cafe, a hangout space in the Writing & Language Center where seniors can work on their theses in community while getting expert help from writing tutors and professional staff.

A program located in the Academic Resource Commons in Ladd Library, the cafe has a pop-up vibe, getting going just as thesis activity and anxiety starts to spike each semester.

On a recent December afternoon, the offerings at Thesis Cafe included everything from individually wrapped pastries and candies to spicy Cheetos, plus hot drinks, all supplied by Dining Services.

Christina Wang ’22 of Woodcliff Lake, N.J., typed away on her thesis: an analysis of online sex work through the lens of three different political philosophies: libertarianism, feminism, and Marxism. It’s been a challenge because there is so little literature available on the topic, she said. 

“My friends have been really thoughtful, sending me articles, and videos and documentaries about it,” Wang said. “I’ve talked with professors in the politics department, and they’ll give me advice about different readings to do, and different types of writing.”

“It’s definitely been a ‘takes a village’ type effort,” Wang laughed. 

Wang appreciates the Thesis Cafe because of the environment it provides, allowing her to work in a shared space where she can talk and share ideas with others.

Another student, Martha Coleman ’23 of Seattle, arrived early for her shift as a writing tutor at the ARC. While she waited, she used the studious atmosphere to do work for her job as an intern at Gateway Community Services in Portland and Lewiston. 

It isn’t just about studying, scholarship, and snacks at the Thesis Cafe. Fullerton makes sure to acknowledge whoever comes in, and offer periodic “breaks” from sitting and typing, by leading stretches, breathing exercises, or just providing something different to look at.

“Otherwise, the space is theirs to write and not feel so alone in their struggles and stresses, which I know they all feel from time to time in the thesis process.” Fullerton said.

“We also celebrate what they accomplish and I try to ask them when they leave, ‘What’s one thing you feel good about doing today?’ or ‘What’s next?’ That keeps it positive and reminds them that a thesis is a journey, not a destination.”

The people involved in �ֲ���ý’ peer-tutoring program know how good it is — and now the word’s about to spread, thanks to recognition from the national organization that sets standards for training peer tutors.

Now in its third year, the system for training �ֲ���ý’ excellent peer tutors received the International Tutor Training Program Certification from the College Reading and Learning Association on Jan. 7.

The certification “says that we’re serious about our work,” says Dan Sanford, who oversees tutor training as the director of the college’s Academic Resource Commons. “It says that we’re serious about making sure that every �ֲ���ý student, from first-year student to graduating senior, is supported throughout that entire process.”

“There’s a well-recognized set of best practices nationally for learning centers” like the ARC, Sanford explains. The CRLA certification, which requires a long and rigorous evaluation process, tells the world that a given program meets those criteria.

Math tutor Gabe Nelson ’20 of South Burlington, Vt., works with Monica Luna ’21 of Avondale, Ariz., in the Mathematics and Statistics Workshop in Ladd Library. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ���ý College)

“It’s a mark of maturity and of national recognition for ARC, and a nice feather in �ֲ���ý’ cap,” Sanford says, especially because CRLA “looks comprehensively at a learning center’s entire institutional context in awarding these certifications.”

He adds that the ITTPC makes �ֲ���ý unique among the NESCAC schools. And if the certification is a valuable credential for �ֲ���ý and the ARC, it can be a powerful resume item for the peer tutors as well, especially those planning a career in education or hoping to land teaching assistantships in graduate school.

Around 100 students serve as peer tutors, filling a variety of roles in ARC headquarters in Ladd Library. There are peer tutors in specific disciplines; tutors in writing and speaking; experts in the academic resources available to students; and peer-assisted learning leaders who, as veterans of an especially challenging course, can tutor students who come after them in that course.

The �ֲ���ý training, Sanford notes, was designed around the CRLA criteria (which, in outline form, fill 10 pages). Training begins with a half-day session just before classes start in September and continues throughout the academic year.

Though it encompasses topics as diverse as Title IX guidelines and the cognitive science behind adult learning, the core of the training involves collaborative learning and active learning (which uses various techniques to effect active student engagement with what’s being taught).

In essence, empowerment is the objective of this training. And empowering the tutee may require some impulse adjustment for the tutor. “Students become tutors because they know their stuff,” says Sanford. “When you’re tutoring, the most natural thing to do is open your mouth and let all of the things you know come out.”

Dan Sanford is the director of �ֲ���ý’ Academic Resource Commons and the Writing at �ֲ���ý program. (Josh Kuckens/�ֲ���ý College)

But, he continues, “a lot of tutor training goes to checking that instinct.” The point is to “encourage the student who comes in for tutoring to do as much talking as the tutor, and to empower the expertise and knowledge of the tutee.”

Sarah Raphael ’21 of Carlisle, Pa., is a student manager in ARC and a peer writing and speaking assistant for a first-year seminar. She sees tutoring as “a bridge between teaching and learning.

“Professors at �ֲ���ý don’t want students to regurgitate material, but rather to think critically about content. Tutors endeavor to guide the transition between the presentation of information and the comprehension of information.”

Advancing equity is another key concept in the training, focusing on the specific abilities of students from various linguistic, racial, and ethnic groups, as well as those of first-generation-to-college students.

The point is to empower the expertise and knowledge of the tutee.

And there’s also an important counseling component. “Students may be stressed out, overwhelmed by their studies,” Sanford notes. “There’s an emotional component of being listened to, and calming down a little bit, that has to happen before students can get in a place where they can learn.”

�ֲ���ý’ peer-tutor training is unique in at least one aspect that Sanford has been able to discern: Tutors are required to write reflections on the trainings as they progress through the program, he explains. “Those reflections become, over time, a portfolio of their progress through the training curriculum.

“And then they develop, as another part of that portfolio, a statement of their own philosophy as a peer educator that builds on all those reflections.” The capper is producing a project for ARC “that’s rooted in that philosophy and that pulls all those reflections together.

“They create trainings, they create posters, they create study guides — there are a lot of directions they can go in.” So a chemistry tutor deeply dedicated to active learning might, for example, create a set of pedagogical tools that chemistry students can use in ARC.

The certification arrives at an auspicious time. ARC was established as a pilot program — an experiment, as Sanford says — supported by a Davis Educational Foundation grant. Bringing peer-tutor training at �ֲ���ý up to contemporary national standards, including support for the full spectrum of student needs, was an objective of that experiment.

“What we really did is put together sort of an outline, a sketch, of a learning center. And the students who run the center filled that out and made ARC what it is,” Sanford explains.

The Davis grant runs out in June and ARC, having proved its worth, will transition from pilot program to established institutional asset — “a permanent part of the �ֲ���ý vision,” Sanford says. “And it’s because of what the students have brought to it in coloring in that sketch.”

In this 2017 image taken in the Academic Resource Commons, Claudia Krasnow ’18 (at right), peer writing and speaking assistant for a Spanish course, works with Madelyn Heart ’18 on a paper. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ���ý College)

For a first-year �ֲ���ý student, the leap from high school to college-level writing can be a daunting one.

You tackle new genres, you look at evidence more critically. And you learn that at �ֲ���ý, good writing and good thinking are inseparable.

“Colleges are places where knowledge gets created,” says Daniel Sanford, director of Writing At �ֲ���ý and the Academic Resource Commons (ARC), programs that provide resources for every stage of the writing process, in any discipline.

“When you learn to write and think in that setting, you are figuring out how to participate in the creation of knowledge.”

Claire Sickinger ’19 of Simsbury, Conn., a Peer Writing and Speaking Assistant for Assistant Professor of Asian Studies Nathan Faries’ “Defining Difference: How China and the United States Think about Racial Diversity,” discusses an essay for the class with Zhao Li ’21 of Guangzhou, China, in ARC. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ���ý College)

It can be a steep learning curve, but �ֲ���ý’ newest writers are supported along the way. Most students take a First-Year Seminar, where professors teach writing alongside subject matter. They walk students through each step of the writing process and offer intensive feedback.

As the fall semester enters its second half, and students look to their final seminar papers, we’ve asked �ֲ���ý professors and student tutors how new college writers can make their writing clear and compelling, and what common mistakes to avoid. Here is what they told us.

1. Before you start writing, know the assignment

One of the most avoidable mistakes Associate Professor of Politics Leslie Hill sees is not following directions. “Some students will write to the task they think they know, that may be familiar from high school — but the college professor may be asking for something different, in terms of content as well as the level of thinking.”

2. Know thy audience — and thyself

Don’t feel like you have to play the expert, says Professor of Religious Studies Cynthia Baker. “First-year college writers often seem to feel as though they need to present themselves as ‘experts’ in their essays instead of presenting themselves as well-informed and capable conversation partners,” she says.

Professor of Religious Studies Cynthia Baker teaches the First-Year Seminar “The Nature of Spirituality.” Here, in the 2015 iteration of the course, she shows her students a Rosh Hashanah tradition on Mount David. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ���ý College)

When students adopt the “expert” voice, Baker says, they sometimes feel that quoting heavily from sources means they’re not knowledgeable.

“It is far more often the case that professors are looking for students to demonstrate a firm grasp of the course materials and concepts by showing that they can synthesize ideas from a range of course readings and apply them to a particular problem,” she says. “This calls for positioning oneself in an essay as a well-informed conversation partner who thoughtfully and capably draws on a wide variety of others’ insights through extensive quotes and citations, rather than as a solo expert.”  

3. Pay attention to genre

Biochemistry major Kenyata Venson ’18 of Memphis meets with Bridget Fullerton, assistant director of writing at Writing at �ֲ���ý, to discuss her senior thesis on comparing synthesized drugs to herbal remedies for the treatment of glaucoma. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ���ý College)

“Technical writing is very different from expository writing in that there’s no fluff — readers just want what you did in the study,” says Technical Writing Assistant Ruth van Kampen ’19 of Brunswick. “That’s new to a lot of students.”

As a TWA, van Kampen helps biology students, often sophomores, with their writing.

4. Don’t lose the argument

Claudia Krasnow ’18 of Bedford, N.Y., works with Madelyn Heart ’18 of Winchester, Mass., on a paper for a Spanish class. Writing Tutors work among other student tutors in the Academic Resource Commons (ARC) in the Ladd Library. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ���ý College)

Writing Tutor Mariam Hayrapetyan ’19 of Valley Village, Calif. recommends this exercise: “Write out the prompt in your own words and when you write, make sure that each paragraph somehow contributes to the prompt.”

Take it to the sentence level, too. “Something that can improve clarity is ensuring that everything in each paragraph relates back to the topic sentence, and each topic sentence relates back to the thesis,” says Writing Tutor Kiyona Mizuno ’18 of San Francisco. “This will help keep the writing focused and organized. I find that outlining can be a useful strategy.”

5. Keep it simple

Zeke Smith ’19 of Weybridge, U.K., a Peer Writing and Speaking Assistant for Associate Professor of Russian Dennis Browne’s course on contemporary European film, works with Henri Emmet ’21 of New York. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ���ý College)

Don’t try to sound impressive, advises Mizuno. “A common trend I’ve noticed is sentences that are repetitive, are too long, or try to combine too many ideas. I would encourage students to try not to beat around the bush and to avoid forming long, complicated sentences to fulfill the word count — ideas can get jumbled and confusing fast if sentences get too wordy.”

Zeke Smith ’19 of Weybridge, U.K., who as a Peer Writing and Speaking Assistant helps First-Year Seminar students craft and correct their papers, often takes students through this revising exercise: “I have them reread their draft with a focus on which words can be cut out, and which sentences can be written more concisely. Sometimes finding the exact right adjective or verb can replace an entire description.”

6. Skip jargon

Chinese major Olivia Stockly ’18 of Cumberland Center, Maine, and biochemistry major Ken Hale ’19 of Cleveland, Ohio, prepare for a physics lab in the Academic Resource Commons. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ���ý College)

“It is very easy to use a lot of insider lingo, and writers should be conscious of this while they are trying to articulate their points,” says TWA Jackie Welch ’18 of Falmouth, Maine. “They should write as though the reader is familiar with their field but not necessarily with their particular discipline within that field.”

7. Cut the clichés

“Few people use ‘plethora’ right, and when they do, it’s a little precious,” if not downright pretentious, says Professor of French and Francophone Studies Kirk Read. “I would say we experience a plethora of plethoras in my world — that is to say, an excessive usage of this word!”

Adds Hill, “Nothing that comes after the phrase ‘throughout history’ is true.”

8. Revise, revise, revise

Associate Professor of Politics Leslie Hill speaks during a 2016 panel on the recent presidential election. This year, she is teaching a First-Year Seminar called “Race, Justice, and American Policy in the Twenty-First Century.” (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ���ý College)

“I have often advised students to use an after-the-fact outline or simply go through a draft and highlight their topic sentences,” Hill says. “That will tell you what exists on paper, and you can decide whether that is what you wanted to say or not.”

9. Don’t make the last least.

Bestselling author and syndicated columnist Amy Dickinson discusses her work and tells students how to tell their own stories during a session of “Family Stories,” Kirk Read’s First-Year Seminar, on Oct. 27. (Theophil Syslo/�ֲ���ý College)

“Leave something for the end of your paper,” Read says. “Conclude without summarizing. Save something for the end, so that we appreciate what your point is and that you have proven it in some way.”

10. Record your paper, then listen to it

Reading a draft of a paper out loud can help you catch mistakes — and get around a fixation on grammar. “I try to tell students not to overworry about the grammar and mechanics of everything, but I am conflicted about that,” Read says. “I do want clean writers — so read your writing aloud. Record it and play it back to yourself to see if it makes any sense.”

11. Read!

Wenjing “Wen” Zheng ’21 of Wuhan, China gets her copy of “Strangers Tend to Tell Me Things” signed by the book’s author, Amy Dickinson, during a First-Year Seminar class on Oct. 27. (Theophil Syslo/�ֲ���ý College).

“Read a lot of good writing — and read it as a writer,” says Cynthia Baker. “That is, think of yourself as a writer and study what the pros do. When you find course readings compelling, pay attention to how the writers make their content clear and compelling. What strategies do they use? How do they formulate their arguments and ideas? Give labels to those strategies, experiment with them yourself, and put them in your writer’s toolbox to pull out and use in your own writing.”

12. And write!

Paige Rabb ’20 of Stamford, Conn., takes notes during a meeting of her 2016 First-Year Seminar, “The Natural History of Maine’s Neighborhoods and Woods.” (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ���ý College)

“It might be helpful to think of writing in any form — journaling, noting, ruminating, fine-tuning —as a daily practice,” says Read. “Something that you turn to regularly and happily. Something that might even center you or help sort you out, like yoga, working out, meditation. For many successful writers, it’s a regular practice — and a joy.”