Duke has a cutting-edge and award-winning writing program. Faculty can find information about the Thompson Writing Program structure and how we support writing at Duke in this section of our website.

Writing 101: Academic Writing

Writing 101 is the only course required of all Duke undergraduates. Taught by the most multidisciplinary faculty of any writing program in the U.S., Writing 101 is not the "Freshman English" course you remember from college.

The TWP Writing Studio

The Writing Studio promotes excellence in writing by providing individual writing consultations for the Duke community. The Studio has a staff of highly educated writing consultants that includes professionals with advanced degrees, graduate students, and upper-level undergraduates—all from a variety of disciplines. Our writing consultants participate in ongoing professional development and share a strong interest in helping students develop their writing processes. The Studio works with all levels of writers from a wide range of disciplines. Undergraduate students and graduate students admitted through the Graduate School may schedule appointments at the Writing Studio up to three weeks in advance. Other graduate students, faculty, and staff are welcome to utilize the Writing Studio on a “day of” basis as space permits.

Writing in the Disciplines

The WID program provides support for Duke faculty across campus in their work with student writing:

• Individual consultation on any aspect of student writing, including assignment design, setting up and managing peer feedback or co-authoring groups, developing grading guidelines, and so on.
• Departmental workshops on various aspects of student writing tailored for your department.
• The Duke Reader Project: Students in courses enrolled in the Reader Project can be matched with a Duke alum or employee volunteer who has professional expertise relevant to the course. Volunteers give students feedback on drafts of their writing.

Resources for Professors Teaching Multilingual/ESL Student Writers

Our Multilingual/ESL Specialist, Rene Caputo, has created handouts on designing syllabi and course assignments, responding to multilingual student writers' texts, and enhancing multilingual students' classroom participation.

Multi-Disciplinary Faculty Writing Groups

Writing is a significant part of our professional lives as faculty. We're working on articles, grant proposals, teaching statements, blogs, or op-eds. Too often, however, we don’t have opportunities to talk about the process, our struggles, or to get feedback from readers outside (or even within) our own departments. The Thompson Writing Program is sponsoring this new initiative aimed at advancing faculty writing by fostering multidisciplinary communities of writers to enhance writing productivity, collegiality, and the exchange of ideas across disciplines. Groups of 4-5 faculty from different disciplines meet regularly to share and get feedback on their own writing. The Thompson Writing Program helps organize groups and provides guidance on responding strategies and best practices for multi-disciplinary conversations about writing. A Duke News article highlights the features of this new initiative and the benefits for faculty.

If you’d like to join or form a faculty writing group, please contact Jennifer Ahern-Dodson