Weekly Writing Workshops

Purpose

Our individualized writing and composition workshops serve to support students by systematically improving their argumentative and academic writing skills throughout the term.

While the writing workshops are integrated with a mandatory four-module intensive Middlebury writing course graded by Middlebury faculty, students will receive BabelGuide support in their second semester without having to take that same course.

BabelGuides can devote up to three hours per week to each student. Depending on what works best for the individual student-BabelGuide team, the team usually meets for 90 minutes each week, while the rest of the time they exchange drafts via the Writing Course Platform on Canvas.

Individual arrangements in accordance with specific needs are possible, while the total number of three hours can only be extended for special reasons.  If you think that special circumstances apply, don’t hesitate to notify the director.

For feedback and assessment, BabelGuides will be using a systematic marking guide and are instructed to help you answers those questions that cannot be easily answered by consulting a dictionary or grammar book. Since BabelGuides support your individual learning progress, they will identify mistakes but won’t proofread papers or fix mistakes.

In your first semester, the writing workshops are integrated with the Middlebury writing course. Participation is mandatory and counts towards the grade of the Middlebury intensive writing course graded by Middlebury faculty.

In your second semester, you’re required to continue your participation to maintain and increase your academic writing skills up until the ending of the program.

Middlebury Undergraduate students may gain College Writing Credit in addition to course credit.

Attendance

  • If you have to miss an appointment, please notify the BabelGuide at least a day
    in advance.
  • Please note that sessions will not be rescheduled unless you missed them for
    serious reasons of confirmed sickness or an emergency situation.