Writing Studio News & Notes – Faculty Edition
With the first day of autumn soon upon us, the Writing Studio is in full swing for fall appointments and programming! Whether students are working on course papers, application essays, or dissertation proposals, our writing consultants are here to help.
Read on for ways the Writing Studio can assist with your teaching and your writing projects!
In this newsletter:
- Motivate Your Students to Visit the Writing Studio
- Additional Core Services for Faculty
- Teaching Writing Workshop Series
- Resource Spotlight: Handouts
Motivate Your Students to Visit the Writing Studio
Request a Brief Introduction to the Writing Studio
Giving your students a friendly face to associate with the Writing Studio can make scheduling a writing consultation much less intimidating.
Inviting us to send a writing consultant to offer a 10-minute Brief Introduction to the Writing Studio presentation will do just that, while also leaving students informed about how to take advantage of our services. It’s a high-yield use of your valuable class time!
Online Introductions to the Writing Studio
Consider posting the links below in Brightspace or sharing over email. The first link is for a brief video introduction from the Residential Colleges’ The More VU Know series showing our space and the many friendly faces your students will find here. The next two go to our website’s overview pages for undergraduates and graduate students.
Additional Core Services for Faculty
Writing Studio staff and consultants worked with faculty and students from all over campus during the past academic year, visiting more than 80 classes. We’d love to be invited to your classroom this fall!
In-Class Writing Workshops
Writing consultants are available to lead workshops on specific elements of the academic writing process. Our standard workshops cover a variety of essential topics:
We can also work with you to develop a workshop tailored to your course’s specific needs. Past custom topics have included case studies, literature reviews, film analyses, podcasts, op-eds, and more.
Complete our In-Class Writing Workshop Request form to start the process of booking an in-class workshop.
Visit the Writing Studio’s Faculty page for additional information and resources available for instructors.
Writing Pedagogy Consultations
The Writing Studio’s Director, Associate and Assistant Directors, and Academic Support Coordinators are available to discuss writing pedagogy: syllabus construction and development, writing assignment design, resources for student writing support, and more.
To schedule an appointment, please contact our Administrative Specialist by emailing writing.studio@vanderbilt.edu.
Teaching Writing Workshop Series – Fall 2024
The Writing Studio aims to support the teaching of writing across the disciplines at Vanderbilt and to encourage interdisciplinary conversations about writing pedagogy. Over the course of the academic year, the Writing Studio leads a series of workshops focused on different aspects of teaching writing.
Workshops provide participants with current research, strategies for best practices, and a forum for discussing how these approaches might be adapted to teaching writing in their disciplines. The Teaching Writing Workshop Series is open to all writing instructors.
Writing About Visual Texts
Thursday 17 October, 2:30-4 p.m.
While some disciplines have traditionally relied upon writing about visual texts, others are continuing to incorporate such writing into their classrooms and assignments. Workshop participants will learn about common student essay genres in art history and film studies, hear faculty and student writing advice, and examine sample assignments and student essays in order to develop familiarity with these types of writing assignments as well as ideas for adapting these assignments to other disciplines. Let us know you’re coming!
Scaffolding Writing Across the Semester
Monday 9 December, 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m.
Participants will learn how to use backward design to scaffold writing projects and assignments throughout the semester. In preparation for Spring 2025, they will also have the opportunity to workshop syllabi for courses with writing components. Participants should bring a draft of a spring course syllabus or another syllabus they wish to redesign. Let us know you’re coming!
Fall 2024 in-person workshops will be facilitated by Dr. Megan Minarich, Associate Director, Vanderbilt Writing Studio & Tutoring Services.
Questions? Please email megan.l.minarich@vanderbilt.edu.
Resource Spotlight: Writing Studio Handouts
On the Handouts page of the Writing Studio’s website, you and your students can also find a wide-ranging collection of handouts, which are accessed either as web text or downloadable PDFs.
Our handouts address everything from thesis statements and effective use of evidence to active reading strategies, revision, and coping with writing anxiety, just to name a few.
As an instructor, consider using our handouts for just-in-time teaching, as supplements to a writing topic, or as tools to assist you during conferences with your writers.
Share and Subscribe!
We have begun distributing our monthly newsletter to faculty teaching first-year writing seminars and W courses and asking departments to forward it on to their faculty, but you can also sign up to receive it directly.
Want to stay updated yourself? Ensure our emails continue coming your way by taking a moment to subscribe to our new Writing Studio Faculty News and Notes listserv.
Know someone who should be receiving this newsletter? Please help us out by forwarding it on to them!
Questions?
Contact us at writing.studio@vanderbilt.edu.
| ![VPUE - Writing Studio News and Notes E-Newsletter [Vanderbilt University]](https://cdn.vanderbilt.edu/vu-URL/wp-content/uploads/sites/119/2023/05/19180813/WS-Newsletter-Banner-Fall-2021.png)
