​Developing better student writers

Undergraduates write all the time. We write to fulfill assignments in our classes, to communicate our research, to contribute to The Chronicle and other campus publications and to facilitate our extracurricular organizations through by-laws and communiques. Duke has a steady and strong stream of written production on campus. With the establishment of The Tab and The Rival this year, we see reflected more than ever in our campus the passion of students to report and express themselves through publication.

While these student-run organizations are driven by great passion and written projects continue to be assigned whether we like them or not, we turn towards undergraduate writing and its layered purposes more critically today.

What is to be avoided is churning out deliverables as opposed to thoughtful work that is built up over time. Student-run publications like The Chronicle, Tab, Standard and Duke Political Review are of course excellent opportunities for undergraduates to apply their writing skills to issues and stories that interest them. The benefits of exercising our writing skills are of course good, but there are a few extra miles to be sought beyond mere exercise. Doing more than a topical pulse check on something of interest adds value for both the reader and writer. Consistent writing on a topic over time and with an appreciation for a story’s possibilities are crucial to writing meaningful pieces. Marketing and pushing content on peers for feedback and conversation holds publications to a standard of production for more than production’s sake. Our two cents are valuable only if they contribute to a conversation.

Further, upping the stakes of peer review and required revisions in classes transforms these exercises into real strength-building routines. Ideally, writing skills developed in four years here translate easily into writing in professional settings after graduation. Given how important writing is to every career from the classic English major to the Neuroscience major, its development cannot be stressed enough. This is especially true when many students prefer to never write another paper after Writing 101 and the two required Writing classes. With the Duke Experience course suggested in the ongoing curriculum revision to possibly replacing Writing 101, we encourage moving away from inoculations of writing requirements to a more sustained push for students to communicate their knowledge through writing. The mentored scholarly project and the Duke Experience class provide fantastic opportunities. Feedback and revision are core elements in the long game of improving your writing. Any policy writer, journalist or academic will tell you the importance of having your work ripped apart at the beginning of your career.

Upping the value and rigor of writing at Duke both in and out of the classroom adds more meaning to committing our thoughts and research to paper. Various organizations on campus can commit better to practices aligned with these ideals. A greater prevalence of long-form writing, especially in smaller publications like The Tab, would do the student authors a greater service in the pursuit of commenting on campus life. The same could be said with other undergraduate publications that cover academic topics. Being published in an undergraduate academic journal is wonderful and particularly encouraging for first-years and sophomores, but the time comes when serious projects and positions demand stepping up to more severe reviewing eyes. Shifting undergraduate writing culture along these themes would result in a more engaged, intellectual climate on campus.