Discipline-Specific Writing Guides

Students are often flummoxed by the different expectations of writing for each of the different classes they take. These writing guides were developed by Williams students who major in these disciplines and reviewed by faculty who teach in them. We in the Writing Center hope that if you’re confused about writing in a new field, one of these guides will help!

Writing for Art History

The purpose of writing for 100 and 200-level art history classes is to develop the skill set needed to engage in substantive visual analysis. Writing at this level demonstrates how you are thinking about and interpreting the visual material you’re observing and how these interpretations allow you to enter into conversations with other scholars. Read more…

Writing for Anthropology and Sociology

Writing in ANSO is seen as a way to help professors get to know you as an individual and original thinker and to determine how well you are internalizing the concepts being taught and making them your own. Your professor wants to see that you can apply the sociological/anthropological perspective and the concepts being taught in the course to your chosen topic. Read more…

Writing for Economics

The purpose of writing in economics is to take a complex concept and present it, your argument about it, and/or your policy recommendations based on it, in a simple and clear way. Read more…

Writing for English

Writing in this discipline is as a form of thinking and discovery, a means by which you can understand yourself as a thinker. The purpose of writing for English is to interpret a text, and interpretation depends on your own individual clear and close thinking. Read more…

Writing for History

The purpose of writing for 100 and 200-level history classes is to show your professor what you’re thinking about the material, how you’re organizing it and using ideas from it to add to the conversation. Read more…

Writing for Philosophy

The purpose of writing for 100 and 200-level philosophy classes is to demonstrate how you are engaging with the ideas and questions presented in the readings. We ask big questions in philosophy, so your job is to first do the readings and then to determine your response to the ideas presented there. Read more…

Writing for Political Science

The purpose of writing for 100 and 200-level political science classes is to demonstrate how well you understand the concepts being taught and how thoroughly you are absorbing the material. Read more…

Writing for the Sciences

[content coming soon!]