At Hamilton ... writing well matters

Writing is an integral part of the Hamilton curriculum. Rather than learn about writing in isolated composition courses, Hamilton students learn about writing through the college's writing-intensive curriculum. Students are required to take three writing-intensive courses by the end of their junior year, and most students take more than three. Students can fulfill the writing intensive requirement through a wide range of courses, including Art and Visual Culture, Ballet in the Twentieth Century, Chinese Heroes and Bandits, Invertebrate Biology, and Spatial Perception.

MORE INFORMATION: The Writing Center The Seven Deadly Sins of Bad Writing Essentials of Writing (The Hamilton College Style Sheet)

In a recent survey of college presidents and deans, Hamilton was identified as one of the nation's top colleges for writing. According to U.S. News & World Report, which conducted the survey, the two colleges and 11 universities singled out as examples for teaching writing "Typically make the writing process a priority at all levels of instruction and across the curriculum. Students are encouraged to produce and refine various forms of writing for different audiences in different disciplines."

Writing skills developed in college are deeply valued in the workplace. Hamilton alumni constantly report they are the people in their organizations trusted to write the reports and make the presentations, and a significant number of Hamilton alumni make their living as professional communicators. Among the Hamilton alumni who have distinguished themselves as writers are:

• poet Ezra Pound '05;
• New York Times drama critic Alexander Woollcott '09:
• Pulitzer Prize-winning author and journalist Henry Allen '63 (The Washington Post);
• award-winning playwrights Thomas Meehan '51 (The Producers, Hairspray) and Richard Nelson '72 (James Joyce's The Dead, Madame Melville and Goodnight Children Everywhere);
• novelists Terry Brooks '66 (The Sword of Shannara, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace), John Nichols '62 (The Sterile Cuckoo), Peter Cameron '82 (The Weekend, Andorra and The City of Your Final Destination -- a finalist for the 2003 PEN/Faulkner Award) and Kamila Shamsie '94 (In the City by the Sea and Salt and Saffron);
• and editors Stephanie Abarbanel '73 (Woman's Day), James Willse '67 (Newark Star-Ledger), Stryker McGuire '69 (Newsweek) and Steve Wulf '72 (ESPN Magazine).

Upcoming Events

Scenes @ Hamilton