Writer's Guild

Student Advisory Board Tutorial Support Writer's Guild Recent Developments of the Writer's Guild Recognizing that good writing is fundamental to academic and professional growth, the Syracuse University Writer’s Guild is designed to serve the dual purpose of improving the quality of student writing while instilling an appreciation for writing as a personal and professional activity necessary for success in any field or major. In collaboration with Writing Program faculty, identified students engage in a four-year program of writing, evaluation, reflection and goal setting activities that result in a more refined appreciation of writing as a personal and professional activity and also results in the development of above-average writing skills for the participants Currently the Syracuse University Writer’s Guild has become a group of approximately 30 – 40 undergraduate students who share an interest in writing. This group includes first-year to fourth-year students, most of whom participated in Syracuse University’s SummerStart Program. Professing interests in writing and/or developing writing skills beyond their classroom experiences, Writer’s Guild students meet regularly to participate in conversations with faculty and writers in the greater Syracuse area. They also serve as peer readers for each other’s writing projects, and each semester, collect their writing in a portfolio. As portfolios represent an ever-expanding means of demonstrating student accomplishments and as they become increasingly critical for both the job and/or graduate school interviewing process, experience with portfolio creation is a must for contemporary graduates. Students meet with a Writing Program faculty member each year to review their portfolios and set goals appropriate for each student’s disciplinary and post-graduate plans. Recent Developments of the Writer's Guild Members of the Writer’s Guild identify with a variety of ethnicities, races, and socio-economic classes, and represent most of the nine schools and colleges at Syracuse University. While the objective of assisting students to further develop and enhance their writing skill has been a central focus of the Guild since it’s inception, more recent emphasis has been placed on generating an appreciation for writing as a personal and professional tool beyond the requirements of any specific major. In keeping with this aim, some of the activities carried out by the Guild include participating in the Rosamond Gifford Lecture Series via a grant from the public Central Library in downtown Syracuse. Sponsored by the Friends of the Central Library, the Rosamond Gifford Lecture Series is the largest library-related lecture series in the United States and offers the Greater Syracuse community a chance to hear world-class authors from a variety of viewpoints talk about their craft, their lives, and what's on their minds. The Guild also hosts a reading group in which we read and discuss literary works, including stories written by Writer’s Guild members themselves. Most recently, the Guild has begun working with Composition and Rhetoric Professors Harriet Malinowitz and Scott Lyons in their initiative to raise issues of diversity and globalization in the Writing Program’s core course, Writing 105 and 205.