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Hamiltonians take pride in our legacy as one of the nation’s top programs for teaching exceptional writing. Alumni may recall the days of “yes” themes, where, in order to pass English Composition, they had to write two papers without a single spelling, grammar, or logic mistake. Today, students must complete three writing-intensive courses, offered throughout the curriculum, that call for extensive writing ... and rewriting.
We believe that writing well is evidence of the ability to think well. After all, what good is having a great idea if you can’t communicate it effectively?

Write This Way

Hamilton students are challenged to present themselves and their ideas clearly and persuasively. We asked a handful of professors for writing advice that they routinely pass along to their students.

It’s not just about making an argument; it’s about figuring out what your argument is and making a better argument through writing.

Pavitra Sundar Associate Professor of Literature and Director of Cinema and Media Studies Pavitra Sundar
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Writing Resources

Hamilton faculty members and Writing Center tutors have developed a variety of writing resources that cover everything from basic skills to discipline-specific stylistic advice. Check out insider tips from literature majors or learn how to write about race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, disability, gender, sexuality, and more.

Essays That Worked

Hamilton has a long tradition of emphasizing writing and speaking as cornerstone values, and students come here to find their voice. In fact, many embody that aspiration and demonstrate that potential in their application essays.

Being in medicine, you think that science is the most important part of your education, but through the course of my career, being able to write well and be a reasonably good public speaker have proven to be tremendously important.

Christine Laine ’83 editor, Annals of Internal Medicine Christine Laine ’83

Alumni Writers

From novelists to journalists, poets to playwrights, alumni have gone on from College Hill to pursue successful careers as writers, some earning national and international acclaim. Here are just a few of our Hamilton and Kirkland college authors.

Sarah Maas

Class of 2008

Maas is the New York Times bestselling author of the young-adult “Throne of Glass” and “A Court of Thorns and Roses” series. She wrote the first incarnation of Throne of Glass when she was just 16.

Mark Sullivan

Class of 1980

Sullivan is the author of 18 novels, including the #1 Kindle bestselling Beneath a Scarlet Sky and the New York Times bestselling “Private” series, which he writes with James Patterson.

Roz Chast

Kirkland Class of 1975

Staff cartoonist for The New Yorker, Chast is the author of more than a dozen books including Can’t We Talk about Something More Pleasant? (2014), the first graphic novel to receive the National Book Critics.

Paul Lieberstein

Class of 1989

A screenwriter and producer, Lieberstein has written for numerous television series, including The Office. He’s earned an Emmy Award and Writers Guild of America Award for his work.

Kyandreia Jones

Class of 2019

With two books in the “Choose Your Own Adventure SPIES” series, Jones puts young readers in the shoes of Mary Bowser, a Civil War heroine, and James Armistead Lafayette, who helped Revolutionary War forces defeat the British.

Kamila Shamsie

Class of 1994

Shamsie has achieved international acclaim for her novels, the first of which evolved from a short story she wrote originally for a class at Hamilton.

Stuart Kestenbaum

Class of 1973

The Maine State poet laureate and author of several collections of poetry, Kestenbaum was director of the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, where he established innovative programs combining craft and writing.

Kathleen McGrory

Class of 2005

Now a reporter with ProPublica, McGrory was deputy editor for investigations at the Tampa Bay Times where she won a Pulitzer Prize in Local Reporting.

Terry Brooks

Class of 1966

Fantasy fiction author of 23 bestselling novels, including the “Shannara” and “Magic Kingdom of Landover” series, Brooks has also written novel adaptations of the films Hook and Star Wars: Episode I.

Thomas Meehan

Class of 1951

A Tony Award-winning writer, Meehan penned the books for such Broadway blockbusters as Annie, The Producers, Hairspray, and Young Frankenstein. In collaboration with Mel Brooks, he co-wrote Spaceballs.

Peter Meinke

Class of 1955

Meinke has published 18 books of poems and short stories including The Piano Tuner, which won the Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction. He is the poet laureate of Florida.

Annie Hartnett

Class of 2008

Her second novel, Unlikely Animals, was named “one of the best books of the year (so far)” by Book Riot, while her debut, Rabbit Cake, was listed as one of Kirkus Reviews’ Best Books of 2017.

Richard Nelson

Class of 1972

With 10 plays produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company, Nelson wrote the books for the Tony Award-winning musicals James Joyce's The Dead and the Broadway version of Chess.

John Nichols

Class of 1962

John Nichols’ first novel, The Sterile Cuckoo, was written shortly after he left Hamilton. Published when he was 24, it was soon made into a Hollywood movie filmed in part on campus.

Lauren Magaziner

Class of 2012

Magaziner writes humorous books for young readers, including the series “Case Closed” and “The Mythics.” She wrote her debut novel, The Only Thing Worse Than Witches, while studying abroad as a junior at Hamilton.

Steve Orlando

Class of 2008

Orlando is a comic book writer with DC Comics. He’s written characters such as Batman and Wonder Woman and two series starring Midnighter that were nominated for a GLAAD Media Award.

Ezra Pound

Class of 1905

Pound was a pioneer of the modernist movement. In poetic achievement as great as his life was controversial, his influence on the course of English letters remains of historical magnitude.

Preeta Samarasan

Class of 1998

Set in her native Malaysia, Samarasan’s first novel earned the Avery and Jule Hopwood Novel Award and was described by one reviewer as “exuberantly lyrical and masterfully constructed.”

Peter Cameron

Class of 1982

The author of several novels and collections of short stories, he has earned praise for his elegant prose and developing characters with “painterly precision.”

Rachel Dickinson

Kirkland Class of 1978

A travel and history writer and author of seven books, Dickinson’s pieces have appeared in The Atlantic, Men’s Journal, Audubon, National Geographic Traveler, salon.com, Yankee, smithsonian.com, Old Farmer’s Almanac, and Christian Science Monitor.

Greg Thomas

Class of 1985

TCEO of the Jazz Leadership Project, Thomas' work has appeared in The Root, Village Voice, UPTOWN, American Legacy, Guardian Observer, Salon, NYC Jazz Record, and All About Jazz. He has also contributed to two books on music critic Albert Murray.

Olivia Waxman

Class of 2011

An honors graduate of Columbia Journalism School, Waxman is a staff writer with TIME and TIME.com covering all things history. She has also written for the Nation, Politics, Tech, Entertainment, and Health sections.

Elaine Weiss

Kirkland Class of 1973

Author of the critically acclaimed The Woman’s Hour, The Great Fight to Win the Vote, Weiss has published in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Christian Science Monitor. Her first book, Fruits of Victory: The Woman’s Land Army in the Great War was excerpted in Smithsonian Magazine.

Steve Wulf

Class of 1972

Wulf is a former executive editor of ESPN The Magazine and senior writer for ESPN.com. His articles have appeared in outlets ranging from Sports Illustrated to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

“You should have gone to Hamilton. You would have learned to write.”

We often hear stories about how the writing skills alumni developed on College Hill set them apart in graduate school or in their professions. Here’s one such story that has gone down in Hamilton lore …

The setting is a large hall at Georgetown University Law Center. A second-year student, and Hamilton alumna, sits among a class of law students nervously awaiting the return of their first paper of the semester. The professor is Samuel Dash, former special counsel to the Senate Watergate Committee during the Nixon era.

Dash stands at the front of the room, randomly calling numbers assigned to each student. “Number 27?” Student 27 raises his hand, the professor hands over the paper asking, “Where did you go to college?” The student replies, and Dash moves on. This continues with each student receiving a paper and answering, “Harvard, Penn, Princeton …”

Finally, when all but one paper is distributed, Dash calls out, “Number 18?” The Hamilton alumna raises her hand. “Where did you go to college?” “Hamilton,” she replies. “Okay, the rest of you,” Dash announces, “you should have gone to Hamilton. You would have learned to write.”

But there’s more …

As the story was passed down over the past 25+ years, the name of the student somehow didn’t pass with it. But thanks to some recent sleuthing courtesy of the College’s Information Services staff, we tracked down the Hamilton/Georgetown Law writer extraordinaire. It is none other than Sarah Kanwit Morehead ’95, now the career law clerk to a federal judge in the Western District of Washington, where she conducts legal research and analysis, draft orders, and assists the judge in courtroom proceedings.

“The job requires extensive writing every day,” she says. “I am grateful to Hamilton for its strong writing curriculum that definitely helped me hone my communications skills. Strong, clear writing is important in so many professions.”

Sevin Sins of Writing

Professors at Hamilton work closely with students to improve their writing. It’s a process that combines instruction, collaboration, and practice. And while accuracy in style and grammar is just one element of what makes good writing, the Writing Center offers these handy tips.

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Express Yourself

In addition to writing, Hamilton teaches students to communicate effectively through speaking, digital communications, and artistic expression — all of which help them stand out no matter what path they choose after graduation.

Help us provide an accessible education, offer innovative resources and programs, and foster intellectual exploration.

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