{"id":355,"date":"2010-04-27T07:30:47","date_gmt":"2010-04-27T12:30:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/writing.wisc.edu\/blog\/?p=355"},"modified":"2010-04-27T07:30:47","modified_gmt":"2010-04-27T12:30:47","slug":"an-open-letter-to-the-new-writing-fellows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\/blog\/an-open-letter-to-the-new-writing-fellows\/","title":{"rendered":"An Open Letter to the New Writing Fellows"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

It\u2019s been busy for the Writing Fellows Program, and I\u2019m pleased that our annual recruiting of new Fellows has come to a satisfying end. \u00a0We received 70 applications and at the end of last week\u2014after a round of face-to-face interviews\u2014our director, Emily Hall, sent congratulatory emails to the 28 undergraduates who will join the program in the fall.<\/p>\n

The process of reading applications and interviewing candidates has been bittersweet for me, since I\u2019m graduating and leaving the program this semester. \u00a0I\u2019m very excited for the new Fellows and the adventures that await them, but disappointed that I won\u2019t get to know them. Since I can\u2019t resist offering a few last gems of Assistant Director didacticism, the letter that follows is meant to caution, but uplift. \u00a0I hope it\u2019s useful to its intended audience.<\/p>\n

_______________________________________________________<\/p>\n

Dear new Fellows,<\/p>\n

Congratulations! \u00a0You submitted superb applications, garnered praise from those who wrote you letters of recommendation, and survived the interview. \u00a0You are now Writing Fellows. \u00a0Next fall, you will join a cohort of passionate and intense students who hail from across the university, and (you will observe) your combined talents are staggering. \u00a0As Fellows, you have assumed a position of great responsibility: the role of peer mentor, in which you will guide other undergraduates to fuller expression of their ideas and greater self-possession of and conviction in their skills as writers. \u00a0You are also the beneficiaries of the tradition of knowledge and dedication for which this program is known, and which, I hope, will change you profoundly.<\/p>\n

Over the next few months, you will learn a great deal about fellowing, and what it means to be a Fellow. \u00a0You will likely be overwhelmed at times, and confused, and perhaps skeptical. \u00a0You will experience disorientation when trying to find the bathroom on the sixth floor of Helen C. White Hall. \u00a0You will think about writing all the time, whether you want to or not. \u00a0You may find yourself praying that you don\u2019t mess up. \u00a0All of this is natural. \u00a0You will make your way more nimbly if you try to remember\u2014and do\u2014the following:<\/p>\n

It\u2019s fine not to know everything all at once. \u00a0Really. \u00a0Writing studies, the teaching of writing, and peer tutoring are all subfields in a specialized and amorphous discipline called Composition and Rhetoric. \u00a0No one will expect you to arrive well-versed in the literature, to know the jargon, or to discern every nuance, and pretending you know more than you do will be an obstacle to your learning (not that I\u2019m speaking from experience, or anything). \u00a0This is a field that champions questioning and exploration; the Fellows classroom and the experience of tutoring are dynamic facets of an epistemology of discovery in which openness to the new, the innovative, and the unknown are rewarded. \u00a0In fact, if your impulse might ordinarily be to say, \u201cI already know this,\u201d it might be worth asking instead, \u201cAre there other ways of knowing this?\u201d or \u201cWhat don\u2019t I already know?\u201d or simply, \u201cWhy?\u201d \u00a0Of course, you\u2019ll be expanding your vocabulary and knowledge of the field by reading, which is why:<\/p>\n

You can never read enough. \u00a0You will get more than enough reading in English 316, truly. \u00a0But I\u2019d advise to read as much as possible, both the canonical literature and the most recent scholarship. \u00a0Read articles by experts in the field, and read articles by other undergraduate tutors. \u00a0Read online journals and the list of classes the Writing Center offers each semester, and don\u2019t forget to ask why the journals\u2019 subject matter is trending one way or another, and why the WC offers the classes it does. \u00a0Ask your co-fellows if you can read challenging student papers, both the good ones and those that pose tricky issues for tutoring. \u00a0Even if you can\u2019t read more than what\u2019s assigned, read deeply and forge connections with others over the material. \u00a0You are now part of our community, and reading and discussing will help you feel at home.<\/p>\n

We want you to succeed. \u00a0All the Writing Fellows administrators, those in the Writing Center, every WC TA, and all professors who work with Fellows know you can rise to the challenge, but no one expects you to go it alone. \u00a0They are part of your support network, and you should be unafraid to ask for their help, especially in that first semester. \u00a0Don\u2019t overlook your commenting mentor, whose advice will be invaluable as you tackle your first set of drafts and prepare for those first conferences. \u00a0And look to the experienced Fellows for their insight and encouragement: they all remember what it was like to be new. \u00a0Your support network will help alleviate some of your anxiety, and allow you to blow off steam. \u00a0They will sympathize, but they will also offer a gentle reminder that<\/p>\n

Ultimately, it\u2019s about more than you. \u00a0The Writing Fellows Program exists to help students participate more actively in their educations, take control of their writing process, and develop strategies for communicating and refining their ideas. \u00a0As a Fellow you are integral to this mission, of course, but the program has no purpose without the students. \u00a0Keeping this perspective might be difficult when you\u2019re feeling overworked and a tiny bit unloved, but a spirit of service is vital to all that we do and it is powerful to be a part of a transformative movement on this campus.<\/p>\n

In retrospect, this letter is deficient in shrewd tips to make fellowing a breeze, though from reading your applications and meeting you, I don\u2019t believe that any of you are suckers for quick fixes. \u00a0I do think that you already know that with this program, if you put a lot in you\u2019ll get a lot out. \u00a0And I hope that you do.<\/p>\n

I wish you all the best for the summer and your tenure as Writing Fellows. \u00a0Please be gentle with my successor.<\/p>\n

\u2013mitch<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s been busy for the Writing Fellows Program, and I\u2019m pleased that our annual recruiting of new Fellows has come to a satisfying end. \u00a0We received 70 applications and at the end of last week\u2014after a round of face-to-face interviews\u2014our director, Emily Hall, sent congratulatory emails to the 28 undergraduates who will join the program […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[20,21],"class_list":["post-355","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-writing-fellows","tag-20","tag-writingfellows"],"yoast_head":"\nAn Open Letter to the New Writing Fellows - Another Word<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\/blog\/an-open-letter-to-the-new-writing-fellows\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"An Open Letter to the New Writing Fellows - Another Word\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It\u2019s been busy for the Writing Fellows Program, and I\u2019m pleased that our annual recruiting of new Fellows has come to a satisfying end. \u00a0We received 70 applications and at the end of last week\u2014after a round of face-to-face interviews\u2014our director, Emily Hall, sent congratulatory emails to the 28 undergraduates who will join the program […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\/blog\/an-open-letter-to-the-new-writing-fellows\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Another Word\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-04-27T12:30:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mitch Nakaue\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mitch Nakaue\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\\\/blog\\\/an-open-letter-to-the-new-writing-fellows\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\\\/blog\\\/an-open-letter-to-the-new-writing-fellows\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Mitch Nakaue\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/934ef4671fa06ec02225bf76129b2ee9\"},\"headline\":\"An Open Letter to the New Writing Fellows\",\"datePublished\":\"2010-04-27T12:30:47+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\\\/blog\\\/an-open-letter-to-the-new-writing-fellows\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1006,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"2010\",\"writing.fellows\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Writing Fellows\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\\\/blog\\\/an-open-letter-to-the-new-writing-fellows\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\\\/blog\\\/an-open-letter-to-the-new-writing-fellows\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\\\/blog\\\/an-open-letter-to-the-new-writing-fellows\\\/\",\"name\":\"An Open Letter to the New Writing Fellows - Another Word\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2010-04-27T12:30:47+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\\\/blog\\\/an-open-letter-to-the-new-writing-fellows\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\\\/blog\\\/an-open-letter-to-the-new-writing-fellows\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\\\/blog\\\/an-open-letter-to-the-new-writing-fellows\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"An Open Letter to the New Writing Fellows\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"Another Word\",\"description\":\"From the Writing Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\\\/blog\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Another Word\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\\\/blog\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/10\\\/AnotherWordlogo_Black2.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/10\\\/AnotherWordlogo_Black2.png\",\"width\":600,\"height\":138,\"caption\":\"Another Word\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/934ef4671fa06ec02225bf76129b2ee9\",\"name\":\"Mitch Nakaue\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/92bbb2a5c30b82f5b83e04a450c521e742d8bd6f02836a0bc546731b622a5d9d?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/92bbb2a5c30b82f5b83e04a450c521e742d8bd6f02836a0bc546731b622a5d9d?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/92bbb2a5c30b82f5b83e04a450c521e742d8bd6f02836a0bc546731b622a5d9d?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Mitch Nakaue\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/mitch-nakaue\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"An Open Letter to the New Writing Fellows - Another Word","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\/blog\/an-open-letter-to-the-new-writing-fellows\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"An Open Letter to the New Writing Fellows - Another Word","og_description":"It\u2019s been busy for the Writing Fellows Program, and I\u2019m pleased that our annual recruiting of new Fellows has come to a satisfying end. \u00a0We received 70 applications and at the end of last week\u2014after a round of face-to-face interviews\u2014our director, Emily Hall, sent congratulatory emails to the 28 undergraduates who will join the program […]","og_url":"https:\/\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\/blog\/an-open-letter-to-the-new-writing-fellows\/","og_site_name":"Another Word","article_published_time":"2010-04-27T12:30:47+00:00","author":"Mitch Nakaue","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Mitch Nakaue","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\/blog\/an-open-letter-to-the-new-writing-fellows\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\/blog\/an-open-letter-to-the-new-writing-fellows\/"},"author":{"name":"Mitch Nakaue","@id":"https:\/\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/934ef4671fa06ec02225bf76129b2ee9"},"headline":"An Open Letter to the New Writing Fellows","datePublished":"2010-04-27T12:30:47+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\/blog\/an-open-letter-to-the-new-writing-fellows\/"},"wordCount":1006,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\/blog\/#organization"},"keywords":["2010","writing.fellows"],"articleSection":["Writing Fellows"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\/blog\/an-open-letter-to-the-new-writing-fellows\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\/blog\/an-open-letter-to-the-new-writing-fellows\/","url":"https:\/\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\/blog\/an-open-letter-to-the-new-writing-fellows\/","name":"An Open Letter to the New Writing Fellows - Another Word","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2010-04-27T12:30:47+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\/blog\/an-open-letter-to-the-new-writing-fellows\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\/blog\/an-open-letter-to-the-new-writing-fellows\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\/blog\/an-open-letter-to-the-new-writing-fellows\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"An Open Letter to the New Writing Fellows"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\/blog\/","name":"Another Word","description":"From the Writing Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\/blog\/#organization","name":"Another Word","url":"https:\/\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/AnotherWordlogo_Black2.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/AnotherWordlogo_Black2.png","width":600,"height":138,"caption":"Another Word"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/934ef4671fa06ec02225bf76129b2ee9","name":"Mitch Nakaue","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/92bbb2a5c30b82f5b83e04a450c521e742d8bd6f02836a0bc546731b622a5d9d?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/92bbb2a5c30b82f5b83e04a450c521e742d8bd6f02836a0bc546731b622a5d9d?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/92bbb2a5c30b82f5b83e04a450c521e742d8bd6f02836a0bc546731b622a5d9d?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"Mitch Nakaue"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/"],"url":"https:\/\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\/blog\/author\/mitch-nakaue\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=355"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":358,"href":"https:\/\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355\/revisions\/358"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=355"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=355"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=355"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}