The Write Together at Home Program provides graduate students, professional students, and postdocs with community, structure, and resources to support their writing. This online program is designed to help you establish writing practices and peer writing networks that will sustain your writing throughout the summer.
This program began during the summer of 2020 to provide support and structure during a time when many graduate students were facing isolation and uncertainties about their research and degree programs due to the COVID pandemic. We have continued to offer this program in recognition that summer is often a challenging time for graduate writers. Some graduate students have their time packed with research, family obligations, and other work. Others have open unstructured time. Both situations can make it hard to establish a writing habit.
We see this program as especially important to offer this summer. So many of us are facing additional stress from threats to research funds, immigrants, international students, and other fallout from the current U.S. administration. Coming together with other writers can really help. Let’s come together to write, create community, and walk forward with hope.
Program details
This four-week program (May 27-June 20, 2025) includes the following components:
- Program Kick-Off Orientation: Join us on Tuesday, May 27 (9:00-10:00 am) to meet the program facilitators, other participants, learn more about the program, and start planning your summer writing. During this orientation, we will tell you more about the program and lead you through activities for setting effective writing goals. All program participants are asked to take part in this kick-off event.
- Write-Ins: Do you benefit from having a schedule for writing and from writing alongside other writers? Each week, this program offers multiple 2-hour write-ins to provide structure and community for writers. Most will be offered online, but we’ll be offering some in person for those are available and interested in meeting on campus. Each write-in starts and ends with check-ins on writing goals and is structured by Pomodoros–blocks of focused distraction-free writing time.
- Writing Workshops: Interested in learning new ways to think about and approach writing? Facilitators will be offering a workshop each week: a time for you to learn writing strategies and reflect on your writing practices.
- Consultations with writing tutors: Tutoring sessions provide opportunities to meet individually with a graduate writing consultant to talk through a writing challenge or receive feedback on a draft. The graduate program facilitators—all experienced tutors from the Graduate Writing Service and the English Language Support Office—will be offering online tutoring sessions throughout the program.
- Canvas site: This program uses a dedicated Canvas site to communicate with participants and provide writing resources and materials.
- Writing groups: Throughout this program, we will integrate community-building activities, so that participants will be able to make “writing buddies.” During the final workshop, we will invite participants to create writing groups that continue meeting after the program ends.
Program eligibility
- To be eligible for this program, you must:
- be a Cornell (Ithaca or Geneva campus) graduate student, professional student, or post-doc through the month of June (not alumni; not a Cornell Tech or Weill student)
- be working on a writing project
- be primarily seeking writing community, structured writing time, and writing motivation (rather than writing instruction)
- make it a goal to attend the program orientation and at least one activity each week
To join this program
This program is sponsored by the Knight Institute for Writing in the Disciplines and offered free of charge.
To join, complete a program registration form by Friday, May 16. Click here to register.
Important dates
- May 16: Registration deadline
- May 22: Program Canvas site will go live
- Tuesday, May 27: The WTAH program begins with the Program Kick Off Orientation (9:00-10:00 am EST).
Program staff
This program is being offered by the Knight Institute for Writing in the Disciplines, as a collaboration between the Graduate Writing Service and English Language Support Office. Directed by Michelle Crow and Tracy Carrick, this program is led by four graduate students:
Lisa Camp: Returning WTAH graduate student leader and former ELSO tutor, Lisa is a 6th year PhD candidate in the Department of Literatures in English.
Zena Casteel: Former WTAH participant and current ELSO tutor, Zena is a 7th year PhD candidate in the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior.
Dominique Joe: Returning WTAH graduate student leader and GWS tutor, Dominique is a 3rd year PhD candidate in the Department of Literatures in English.
Maria Anaya-Torres: Former WTAH participant and current ELSO tutor, Maria is a 4th year JSD candidate in law.
