24 March 2006

Programme aims to develop students’ writing skills

A University of Dundee programme which aims to develop students’ writing skills has been hailed as a model of good practice in a major report from the Royal Literary Fund.

In its report, "Writing Matters", the RLF said, "Dundee has one of the most established, best developed and most cost-effective writing programmes in our experience".

The report adds that Dundee offered a "low-cost model that could usefully be copied by others" and also states, "The point is clearly spelt out, and appeals to students’ basic requirement - to improve their marks or grades". It further describes Dundee as an example of a centre "where the study of writing skills has flourished".

"We have put a lot of work into this at Dundee," said Kathleen McMillan, Academic Skills Advisor in the Learning Enhancement Unit at the University. "We have a number of programmes in place to help students develop better writing skills, which are key in enabling them to better communicate and present their ideas."

Among the programmes offered is the "Writing By Apppointment" scheme, where students can access one-to-one tuition with a team of tutors. There are also "Write Right" and "Just Write" programmes led by Writing Fellows such as respected authors Brian Callison and Bill Kirton.

The aims of these programmes are multiple:

• to help students with their written work
• To help students improve their marks
• To help students learn how to learn at University level
• To develop effective writing skills for degree study
• To give students the tools to succeed

The RLF report is generally critical of the writing skills of young people starting university, but states that students given the right guidance can improve rapidly.

"We have seen at Dundee that improvement in writing skills can also lead to a general growth in confidence, so it can offer a huge boost to students," said Kathleen McMillan.

For more information contact:

Anna Day
Press Officer
University of Dundee
Nethergate Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384768
E-MAIL: a.c.day@dundee.ac.uk