The failings of writing requirements

In our first days at Princeton, every administrator and faculty member the Class of 2005 encountered told us we were special. We were brilliant. We were diverse. And we couldn't write. Though the freshman class was ushered in with what, I am told, is the usual fanfare, we were the first to be admitted to the new writing program. Designed to remedy the poor writing that frustrates professors in undergraduate papers and theses, the requirement did not take long to become every freshman's favorite source of complaints. Today, as the second semester begins, it is time to realize what we 'brilliant' freshman determined some months ago: while the writing program's goals may be admirable, its execution is all wrong.

To fulfill the new writing requirement, freshmen must enroll in a small, topical seminar. Because students choose their seminars based on subject matter, no provisions are made for differences in ability or interest in writing. Thus, what each student gets out of his or her seminar can vary widely.

If the purpose of the writing program is to enable each freshman to grow as a writer and succeed at written work, it would be far more beneficial to divide the classes not only by topic but by level. Whether placements were determined by previous scores or experience, as with foreign language classes, or by student preference, allowing for these differences would no doubt improve the experience for all those involved.

A far more fundamental problem, and one that is much easier to fix, lies in how the seminars are structured. Each professor assigns four essays of set lengths to his or her students. As any first semester writing student will tell you, these essays are the bulk of her work and frustration for the semester. In fact, the format and structure of the essays is so fixed as to render them almost without educational value. My classmates and I, for example, wrote "text in context" essays and "multi-text comparison and contrast" treatises with strict guidelines from our professor and the writing program curriculum. By the end of these assignments, I knew I could write a specific kind of essay for a specific professor, but my confidence in any writing skills gained was minimal.

My understanding of written work at Princeton, particularly in higher-level classes, is that it most often comes in the form of broad, independent assignments. Such projects require students to think, organize and research on their own. It is this kind of work which most challenges us and for which we need to be most prepared. For the students with whom I came in contact, this type of writing was the most rewarding. In pursuing a topic they cared deeply about, developing a thesis on their own and diving head first into the writing of their papers, students were actually, for once, interested in what they were doing and eager and able to learn from the experience. By making all writing seminar assignments more closely resemble those we will face in our academic futures, program professors could make their classes less frustrating and more valuable.

Being able to communicate effectively through writing is vital, not just at Princeton but in that real world we all enter after graduation. Even those students who complain most about their writing seminars will likely admit that they need to develop as writers and improve their ability to convey ideas and arguments on paper. The current format of the writing program, however, is not furthering these goals. Indeed, coming as they do in students' first year at Princeton, the seminars have been a source of disappointment and anxiety for too many students.

The program is, at its heart, a good one. The professors are interesting and passionate. Despite my concerns, I enjoyed getting to know the other students in my class and working with my professor. Just as freshmen often stumble in their first year at the University, it would have been unreasonable to expect the writing program to be perfect from the start. By listening to the suggestions of students and faculty, the program can grow and change to better serve and educate the talented freshmen it encounters each year. Katherine Reilly is from Short Hills, N.J. She can be reached at kcreilly@princeton.edu.