Speaking, Arguing, and Writing Program

The Speaking, Arguing, and Writing (SAW) Program's mission is to empower leaders who think critically and creatively and who write and speak persuasively.

We believe that developing speaking, arguing, and writing skills is a social process. To foster a community of learners among the student body, we hire, educate, and place students as SAW Peer Mentors to partner with faculty in courses across the disciplines and to staff the SAW Center in the Mediated Educational Work Space (MEWS).

Critical, creative, and persuasive leaders possess diverse backgrounds, views, and voices. SAW affirms the value of and place for all people and all languages in the college.

The SAW Program is one of the core programs of the Weissman Center for Leadership and is guided by an advisory committee.

Where to find SAW?

The SAW Center

The SAW Center invites all current MHC and 5-College students enrolled in a MHC course to meet with an experienced SAW peer mentor to discuss their work and process, from brainstorming and composition to revising and editing. SAW Mentors work with learners of all abilities and support writing, as well as public speaking, across and beyond the curriculum.

Located on the main level of Dwight Hall in the Mediate Educational Workspace (MEWS), the SAW Center is open 6 days a week during the academic year and offers:

• 30 minute and 60 minute appointments
• In-person and Virtual appointments
• Walk-in appointments

At the SAW Center, SAW mentors can help you with multidisciplinary written assignments, including college essays, lab reports, creative writing pieces, senior theses and more. Mentors offer one-on-one assistance at every step of the writing process, from brainstorming to revision. SAW mentors can also help you to strengthen your public speaking skills. You can meet with a mentor to review the organization and flow of your speech and to receive feedback on your vocal delivery, body language, use of visual aids, and more.

SAW Mentors will

• discuss your assignment with you and make suggestions on approaching a topic
• help you develop your own editing and proofreading skills through advice and guidance on thesis development, use of evidence, organization, flow, sentence structure, grammar, punctuation and more
• direct you to other resources for further assistance

Courses and First Year Seminars

In addition to the appointments that any student can make at the SAW center, you might work with SAW mentor who is assigned to your class as a course mentor. Course mentors support the specific writing and speaking assignments for the course. They meet with the professor, hold special office hours, and offer workshops and co-working sessions.

Every First-Year Seminar has a course mentor assigned to it, so you will have an opportunity to work with a course mentor in your first semester. Depending on their schedule, your course mentor might attend class, or they might be following along on their own. Keep an eye out for their messages and feel welcome to make an appointment! A lot of our current SAW mentors were inspired to apply because of the work they did with their FYSEM course mentor.

Additional Offerings

Beyond academic assignments and course material, SAW Peer Mentors can also support students as they develop their professional documents such as cover letters, personal statements, and more. Meet with a SAW Mentor to prepare for an interview or polish your elevator pitch. 

Students can also engage with the SAW Program by participating in one of SAW’s program groups or attending one of a variety of open workshops. SAW even creates space for co-working, offering a selection of co-working hours hosted by SAW Mentors each semester.

Take a look at our programming calendar to see our upcoming offerings.