Our Guides on Pedagogical Practices

The Writing Center aims to support effective teaching of writing, reading, and public speaking at Amherst College. While writing associates are available for individual and small-group consultations, we have also developed materials to support pedadogical development. We welcome feedback on these guides and suggestions for new topics to address at writing@amherst.edu. 

Additional Resources

Additionally, we recommend the following resources, developed at other institutions, which we have found useful in our own professional development. 

  • WAC (Writing-Across-the-Curriculum) Clearinghouse Teaching Guides are designed for writing teachers and for teachers of other subjects who want to use writing and speaking activities in their classrooms. The guides are practical and succinct.

  • Responding to Student Writing, from the Harvard Writing Project, offers a structured approach for commenting on students' papers to improve student learning.  See also the right-side menu for related pedagogical topics. 

  • Richard Haswell's 1983 article, "Minimal Marking," describes a marking method that efficiently addresses errors, provides students a chance to self-correct. This method allows faculty to focus on substance, argument, and other higher-level concerns in their comments without ignoring (or overemphasizing) surface errors. (College English 45.6 (1983), p. 600-604).
    • See also this Elon University Center for Teaching and Learning handout on Minimal Marking.