Passing the ‘W’: Excellence in Writing Lasts a Lifetime

The letter W traces its origins through Old English to a rune for “joy.” It often stands alone to represent a day of the week, a dimensional measurement, or a win in sports.

At Saint Mary’s College, when first-year students attain their “W” it means only one thing: they have succeeded in achieving their Basic Writing Proficiency—a joy and a win in itself.

This past year, the College celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Writing Proficiency Program (WPP). It is the longest continually running Writing Across the Curriculum program in the country. This year, the College will also mark the 50th anniversary of its associated Writing and Tutoring Center. 

Every Saint Mary’s College alumna from the past 50 years likely remembers getting their W, said Professor Jennifer Juszkiewicz ’06, director of both the WPP and the Writing and Tutoring Center. A point of pride, the W signifies that the student is prepared as a writer for what their upcoming courses will require.

“The WPP is distinctive for alumnae,” Juskiewicz said. “We hear all the time that the focus on writing at the College was absolutely instrumental to their career success.”

The WPP started in 1973 as a more authentic approach to the teaching of writing, she said. It was initially led by Professors Gail Mandell, Ann Loux, Linnea Vacca, and Sister Jean Klene ’59, CSC. Subsequent directors and leaders include Professors Becky Stoddart, Ted Billy, Laura Haigwood, Patti Sayre, Tom Bonnell, Anita Houck, and Susan Baxter. 

“Not only were we an early program, but we remain a landmark as well, amid a current wave of larger institutions now building Writing Across the Curriculum programs,” said Juskiewicz.

Collaboration Across Campus

The WPP has always been a collaborative program, requiring the support and input of faculty from across the College. W classes have been taught in the English department—which carries approximately 50% of the courses—as well as communication studies, theatre, history, philosophy, political science, intercultural studies, biology, art, humanistic studies, psychology, sociology, and others.

Beyond the many faculty who teach individual W classes, Saint Mary’s also has a campus community of portfolio readers. Nearly every College president and many administrators have read W portfolios alongside trained faculty and staff. This approach makes the WPP one of the hubs of pedagogical training and collaboration at Saint Mary’s, an opportunity to gather and focus on student writing and development. 

A Rite of Passage

W courses are a rite of passage for every Saint Mary’s student, a way to learn to write in a specific discipline under the direction of a specialist in the field. Alumnae note that they are often the person on call in their current jobs when there is a writing project that needs to be drafted or finessed. Saint Mary’s graduates are writers—nurses, accountants, social workers, biologists, teachers, scholars, and leaders, all of whom can write. They have developed their ability through their Saint Mary’s education to express complex ideas in writing. 

Honing this ability is a deliberate focus. “Students conference with me for every paper they write for my W class,” said Sarah Noonan, associate professor of English. “They come to me with ideas and they just need help figuring out how to arrange them on the page. It’s time-consuming, but also really fulfilling to teach.”

Peer Tutors Coach W Students

A key support center for the WPP, the Writing and Tutoring Center, occupies a large and airy space on the library’s third floor. Here, upper-level students are trained to mentor W students, helping them  develop writing topics and work through their drafts.

Speech-language pathology major and W tutor Meara Haggerty ’24 confessed that college writing was a struggle for her. But the abilities she gained through the W program brought her the confidence to mentor. “Never in my dreams did I think I’d be a writing tutor. I absolutely adore helping other students.” 

Katelyn Waldschmidt ’24 agrees. “From the beginning, I loved how the W program was structured. In the end students don’t realize how much progress they’ve made until they revise their first paper for their W portfolio. They realize how far they’ve come and it’s so satisfying.”

Once a student’s work is formally submitted to their professor, it goes to the portfolio reader community. “Readers review over a weekend, trade off papers, then come together with their recommendations for each portfolio on Monday,” Juskiewicz explained. “There is a mix of awe at the writing ability of some students and an opportunity to share concerns about the progress of others.” The readers provide their observations to the instructors, who make the final call on each portfolio.

W Memories

The W course is often among the most enduring memories alumnae carry—and for good reason. Rachel Trinkley ’06 is the manager of interpretive resources at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. An art major, she now pens the materials that accompany key exhibits. Recalling her W efforts, she said, “I needed to find my voice and grow my confidence, and my instructors encouraged this. They taught me—all of us—how to read critically and to write well. I wouldn’t be who or where I am today without the W course. It gave me a means to communicate clearly and fluently, and set me up for success.”

Union electrician Molly T. Burns ’06, remembered discovering that “I had no idea how to properly use a comma. I was taught to look at how I convey my thoughts and ideas in writing. It was a much-needed concept for me to recognize how differently people sometimes perceive what another person has written.”

What’s Ahead—Besides AI?

Juskiewicz continues to plan for the program’s future, particularly in light of AI. “With technology like AI that can create sentences and paragraphs and appear coherent, what then does it mean to assign writing in the classroom?”