Guidelines for Honors Worthy Writing

Honors Forum introduces extraordinary rigor into academic programs as students consider complex questions and examine sophisticated materials.  Your writing for the Honors Forum reflects these goals.   As  students pursue the “life of the mind” in the Honors Forum at Skidmore College, they uphold high standards in writing not only in their course work, but in the writing they undertake expressly for the Honors Forum minor (e.g. application essays, Service Requirement reports, proposals for Senior Capstone work, Academic Festival presentations, Independent Studies, and Add-Ons). Keep these criteria in mind to make your writing honors worthy. 

1. A piece of writing needs a controlling idea that requires sustained development.

2. The writing should be clear and coherent, using logical organization and transitions.

3. f you use sources in your writing, make sure to use correctly the citation conventions appropriate to your discipline.

4. When writing a proposal for a Capstone or Academic Festival or a Citizenship report, remember your audience is knowledgeable but not an expert in your field.

5. When completing a proposal or report, aim for sophistication in disciplinary depth while contextualizing your project for a liberal arts audience.

6. Make sure to draft and revise your Independent Study proposals, Academic Festival applications, Capstone Project Proposals, and Citizenship reports; online forms allow writing directly into the allotted spaces, but resist that temptation. 

7. Your writing should be accurate in terms of grammar and punctuation and be stylistically graceful.  See the Writing Center for assistance, no matter what stage you are in your writing career.

8. Because Honors Forum students are intellectually engaged in the work they do, they take ownership of their work by proofreading and editing their writing.