November 2011
3 posts
Undergraduate writer at work...in the Times!
We’ve advertised a number of events this fall sponsored by Harvard Writers at Work, a great lecture series that features members of the Harvard community talking about their writing. From the Harvard Writers at Work webpage:
Launched in 2009, the Harvard Writers at Work lecture series focuses on the ways that writing, by those at Harvard, connects academic and professional work and the...
Narrative Journalism event
Writing Narrative Journalism: A Conversation with Gay Talese and Chris Jones 2 pm, Friday, November 18 Fong Auditorium Boylston Hall Literary journalism icon Gay Talese is the bestselling author of eleven books. He was a reporter for the New York Times from 1956 to 1965, and since then he has written for the Times, Esquire, The New Yorker, Harper’s Magazine, and other national...
October 2011
2 posts
September 2011
4 posts
Next week's events in the Harvard Writers at Work...
Harvard Law School Professor Jonathan Zittrain on The Future of Writing and How to Stop It, Thurs., Oct 6, 7:30 pm
Jonathan Zittrain “The Future of Writing and How to Stop It” 7:30 pm, Thursday, October 6 Thompson Room, The Barker Center Mr. Zittrain is Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Professor of Computer Science...
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Harvard Writers at Work
Harvard Writers at Work is launching its 2011-2012 lecture series next week. This series, sponsored by the Harvard College Writing Program, the Harvard Review, the Harvard Extension School Writing Program, and the Program in General Education, seeks to explore the power of writing at Harvard and beyond.
This is a great series. We’ll be posting information about all of their events, so...
How to Write a Philosophy Paper
Dave Langlois, Departmental Writing Fellow in Philosophy, will present a workshop on the fundamentals of writing in philosophy on September 14 at 3 pm in Emerson 101. He will discuss the mechanics of writing philosophy papers, introduce students to how philosophy papers are evaluated, and provide some tips for philosophical writing.
WELCOME BACK
The Writing Center will open for the semester on September 13 at 9 a.m. We look forward to seeing you soon!
April 2011
3 posts
Attention first-year students!
Submission Guidelines to Exposé the online magazine of writing from the Harvard University community What We Seek Exposé is now accepting submissions from first-year students in the college. We are looking for strong, argumentative prose written under the direction of our Expos course offerings. In these essays, we seek a range of topics and approaches that reflect the wide panorama of...
Ecker Prize
The Ecker Short Story Prize for first-year students Spring Term Deadline: Wednesday, May 18, 2011 by 5:00 p.m. The Ecker Short Story Prize honors a short story written by a Harvard freshman. Submissions will be accepted electronically. To enter, submit an original short story (or several stories) totaling no more than 25 pages to the submission dropbox on the Harvard College Writing Program...
March 2011
3 posts
Register for the Science Writing Workshop
There are important differences in how writers in different disciplines communicate their ideas. Find out how writing in the sciences differs in terms of style, organization, and the use of sources and evidence. Learn the fundamentals of reading articles in the sciences. Know the right questions to ask in order to determine what your professor expects from a research paper in a science or...
February 2011
3 posts
Dean of Harvard Law School to talk about writing
“Writing About a Landmark Case” A talk about law, history, and writing by Martha Minow Dean of Harvard Law School and author of “In Brown’s Wake: Legacies of America’s Educational Landmark.” Tuesday, March 1 7:30 p.m. Thompson Room Barker Center 12 Quincy Street Cambridge, MA Open to the Public The Harvard Writers at Work Lecture Series is co-sponsored by the...
More information about Jill Lepore's talk on...
Past Tense: Historians and Politics A Talk About Writing by Jill Lepore Jill Lepore is the David Woods Kemper ‘41 Professor of American History, a staff writer at The New Yorker, and the author, most recently, of The Whites of Their Eyes: The Tea Party’s Revolution and the Battle Over American History and New York Burning: Liberty and Slavery in an Eighteenth-Century City. Professor...
January 2011
1 post
Spring term begins!
We will open for regular hours on Tuesday, February 8. We look forward to seeing you!
December 2010
3 posts
Closing for the semester
We will close at the end of the day tomorrow so that our tutors can study for their exams. If you’re still writing, check out our archive of posts for some eleventh hour help. Good luck with your exams!
Classic Post--How to Write a Paper in 24 hours →
In honor of Reading Period…
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Writing on the Interwebz -- "When You Need that...
by Sara Mills
Since the dawn of time students everywhere have had to write things. Most of the time, you begin your paper with phrases like “since the dawn of time,” feel a sense of purpose and self-satisfaction, then realize that there has to be something else after that first sentence. It is usually at this point that you go out for a snack, take a nap, or just stare at your computer in...
November 2010
11 posts
Calling all Expos students!
The Writing Center presents… The Second Annual Expos Town Hall Saturday December 4 from 1-3 pm Lamont Forum Room
Trying to come up with a thesis? Struggling with the organization of your final Expos paper? Want someone to look over your counter-argument? Drop by the Lamont Forum Room (2nd floor of Lamont) between 1-3 p.m. this coming Saturday for an Expos/Writing Center drop-in...
Guidelines for submitting to Exposé
Submission Guidelines for Exposé, the online magazine of writing from the Harvard University community.
What We Seek Exposé is now accepting submissions from first-year students in the college. We are looking for strong, argumentative prose written under the direction of our Expos course offerings. In these essays, we seek a range of topics and approaches that reflect the wide panorama of...
4 tags
Beyond Expos
by Daniel Gross
Expository Writing is a new type of class for many freshmen entering Harvard. In high school, most of us wrote standard 5-paragraph essays in English and Social Studies, but few took an intensive class dedicated solely to the practice and process of argumentative writing. Understandably, when we arrive on campus, some ask: “What do these essays that we’re supposed to write look...
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A Psych Major's Guide to Asking for Extensions
by Zoë Morrison
It’s midterm season. You have a paper due at 8pm on Thursday, but before that you’ve got to get through an exam, attend a meeting you can’t reschedule, and email some vaguely insightful comments on the readings to your TFs before both of your sections— wait a second, is that section presentation you signed up for this week?!
In “Oh S#@!” moments like these, don’t spend your time...
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Wacky Word Wednesdays - Fear
by Xanthia Tucker
One of my favorite emotions is fear! Thus, this week’s pioneering post will investigate the origins of words for this hair-raising sentiment that all but the bald have felt. First, fear itself. We have nothing to fear but it. As a noun, “fear” stems from the Old English faer, a calamity or sudden danger. As a verb, however, the Old English faeran means “to terrify or frighten.”...
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Attention freshmen fiction writers!
The Ecker Short Story Prize for first-year students
Fall Term Deadline:
Monday, January 24, 2011 by 4:00 p.m.
The Ecker Short Story Prize honors a short story written by a Harvard freshman. First-year students are eligible to submit stories for the Ecker Prize at either the fall or spring deadline (the spring deadline will be in May). If a student submits a story in January and wants to...
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Grammar: Actions (Part 1)
by Alex McLeese
“Suit the action to the word, the word to the action.” — William Shakespeare, Hamlet, 3.2
“Action is eloquence.” — William Shakespeare, Coriolanus, 3.21
BAD WRITING IS WRITTEN HERE
During the writing of this post, mistakes were made. At times, the words were chosen poorly. Activity was eschewed in favor of a creeping passivity. And when this post was finally published, even...
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Wacky Word Wednesdays - "Holding a Mirror up to...
by Xanthia Tucker
As I embarked on this week’s wordly adventure, I decided it was time to indulge in a little self-reflection and take a stab at the linguistic roots of the Writing Center’s budding blog. Blog. “Blog.” Whence springs this bizarre four-letter word?
Well, according to Douglas Harper’s Online Etymological Dictionary, the word “blog” is actually an abbreviation of “weblog,” a...
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In Defense of Close Reading
by Peter Bernard
Most of us have been there before: it’s midterm season, problem sets and take-homes lurk on the horizon, and you’ve got a paper due in a few days. What’s worse, you haven’t even touched the readings yet.
You might think, I can’t do this. Given that the time frame is a couple of days and not a couple of hours, chances are you can. Or you might think, I don’t have time to do the...
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The Quote Sandwich
by Charlotte Lieberman
I can still remember one of the most disappointing experiences of my life: I am sitting at a coffee shop ready to unfold the layers of greasy wax-paper enveloping my mozzarella and tomato sandwich. According to the menu, this creation is adorned with a layer of pesto. As I open each fold, my excitement grows. After about half a minute of unfolding, I finally reach the...
October 2010
3 posts
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Should I Go All the Way? The Ten-Minute Drill:
by Dillon Powers
No one likes commitment. Efficient research leaves more time to write your paper. Rather than entangle yourself in an abusive relationship with potential source material, try following this set of diagnostics. At the end of your ten minutes, you will be able to decide whether or not to invest more time into poring over the textual nuances. You can follow these steps to tackle...
New Posts Coming Soon!
Greetings people of cyberspace! The Barker Underground is back with a brand new look courtesy of Daniel Gross ’13. This semester, we’ll be featuring “Wacky Word Wednesdays” from new tutor Xanthia Tucker ’13, weekly grammar advice from veterans Alex McLeese ’11 and Lisa Jing ’10/11, and a healthy dose of tips and tricks for college writers in any discipline. So happy reading, happy writing, and...
Exposé Magazine
The Harvard Writing Program has released its Exposé Magazine 2010. If you’re looking for examples of strong student writing, that’s one place to look.
September 2010
2 posts
1 tag
Writing Your First Research Paper
Attention first year students! The library has published a very useful new resource page to introduce you to the resources you’ll need in your first research paper. Take a look here.
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Harvard Guide to Using Sources
The new Harvard Guide to Using Sources is now live! Check it out here. This Web publication provides information about using and citing sources, as well as a guide to understanding plagiarism.
May 2010
6 posts
3 tags
To Quote or Not To Quote?
by Morgan Mallory
Quoting, in a sense, is the easiest part of writing a paper: someone else already did the writing! Deciding what to quote, however, can often be a challenge for writers. Then again, deciding what to paraphrase—what not to quote—is an equally important skill. How do you choose what to quote, what to paraphrase, how it all fits in with your argument? Is there a...
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The Nuclear Option: How to Write a Paper the Night...
by Sam Berman-Cooper
We’ve all been in this situation. 7pm. Paper due tomorrow at noon. No draft. No outline. No time machine. What do you do, what do you do?
Have no fear! Here are a few Quick Tips you can follow to avert disaster.
1. Ask yourself: Have I done the reading? If your answer is “no” go on to step 2. If you answer is “yes,” ask yourself “what are 4 or 5 interesting facts about the...
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Interview with Matthew Kaiser
The Writing Center recently had the opportunity to discuss student writing with Assistant Professor of English Matthew Kaiser. This spring, Professor Kaiser teaches the very popular English 156: Crime and Horror in Victorian Literature as well as the seminar English 90tv: Adventures with Robert Louis Stevenson. Below is a transcript of our conversation.
Q: What is the most common mistake...
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Five Great Places to Write on Campus
by Jesse Ge
1. Boylston Hall: 2nd Floor
If you like the feel of Ticknor Lounge but are often overwhelmed by the student groups that frequently take over the place, the semi-hidden seating area upstairs can be a great place to get some work done.
Like Ticknor, there are plenty of tables, chairs, and power plugs – making it a perfect place to jot down a few thoughts between classes. Or, if you’re...
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How to Critique an Author Who's Smarter Than You
by Emily Hogin
As a Social Studies concentrator, I’m often asked to critique some of Western Civilization’s greatest thinkers. This can be an intimidating assignment, but I’ve found that there is an effective way to do it. Some dos and don’ts after the jump.
Don’t Make It Personal You should assume, since the author has spent more time on this topic than you have, that everything that is ...
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Interview with David Zarefsky
The Writing Center recently had the opportunity to sit down with David Zarefsky, Visiting Professor of English (Northwestern University). Professor Zarefsky teaches two courses this semester, English 174: The Rhetoric of Abraham Lincoln, and English 175: Great American Speeches and Speakers. Below is the transcript of our interview.
Q: You just retired from Northwestern?
Professor...
April 2010
1 post
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Structure: Four Warning Signs
by James Fuller A good structure is often a clear sign of a good argument. On the flip-side, a weak structure is often one of the most obvious signs of a weak argument. If one or more of the following is true of your structure, you may want to reconsider the thesis, examples, or logical progression of your paper. These aren’t hard and fast rules. You may find that one of the following is...
March 2010
2 posts
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The Four Parts of a Lens Essay Argument
by Emily Hogin
One of the most common prompts I see at the Writing Center is the “lens essay.” A lens essay brings two texts in dialogue with one another in a very particular way. It asks you to use Text B – the lens – to illuminate something you didn’t already know about Text A.
How Not to Argue a Lens Essay
A lens essay is not a list of differences and similarities between two texts. The...
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Welcome to the Writing Center Blog!
Watch this space for posts about all things writing— tips on writing papers, answers to your writing questions, updates on readings and events, and useful links.
Harvard undergraduates can access our scheduler here. A handful of writing resources that might help in getting started are also available here.