writing

This semester, while I’m working toward my English degree, my grandmother will be working toward hers too.

It’s a week before finals and you are swamped with work: Essays need to be written; tests need preparing for; and labs need to be done. Speaking from personal experience, the hardest part of the week isn’t the excessive coffee-drinking or the all-nighters––it’s the helpless feeling of simply not knowing how to solve a problem or structure an essay. In those moments, the best solution is to reach out and get help. Detailed below is a series of Columbia’s undergraduate resources that one should make the most of.

For some, the Core Curriculum is what drew them to Columbia. For others, it is the bane of their existence. No matter which category you fit into, taking University Writing is a given. All first-years in Columbia College and the School of Engineering and Applied Science are required to take it. With second semester coming up, those who haven’t yet taken the course have the chance to choose which section they like best. But with nine different sections of the class, how can you know which one is right for you?

“You all would be amazed by the variety and the creative energy that [Barnard] students bring to their classes, no doubt facilitated by the three people we are going to hear from,” Barnard’s Director of Creative Writing Timea Szell said of the visiting faculty who were set to speak at the James Room in Barnard Hall.

If you’re a Barnard first-year still trying to figure out which First-Year Writing or Seminar class would best fit your needs and desires, fear not! Here is a short but sweet collection of highly recommended classes you should consider taking this coming spring–not just for the sake of fulfilling the Barnard degree requirements, but to hopefully gain drops of wisdom along the way.

Unbeknownst to you, the man sitting next to you in the Hungarian Pastry Shop the other day was, in fact, writing a character based on you for his MFA creative writing thesis.

Dael Orlandersmith leaned over the podium, never letting the echo of her voice die in the auditorium. She allowed her voice to run at a gallop, enunciating every “t” and “d” with a punch as she engraved a brand new, bittersweet piece onto the hearts of the audience.

“Whatever you’re told not to do, it’s worth exploring,” Guggenheim Fellowship-winning author Lynne Tillman said at a talk on creative writing at Dodge Hall on Wednesday night.

As midterms are approaching and your daily treks to Butler are starting to turn into all-nighters, you’re probably wondering why you hadn’t started studying or tried reaching out for help earlier in the semester. Before you break down under the overwhelming amount of stress you’re under, there might still be time to redeem yourself and your semester grades (and plan out your next semester more efficiently!) by using the tutoring services offered across colleges here at Columbia.

It can be so easy to feel anonymous at this school—like just another faceless body wandering through halls filled with portraits and memorials of change-making alumni. We walk among teenagers who’ve accomplished more before their first year of college than many people accomplish in their lifetimes. We sit in classrooms with students who might someday change the world and with professors who may have done so already.