Writing and speaking are important components of an MIT education. Many MIT alumni and alumnae have reported that even in their scientific and engineering careers, they spend 25-35% of their time writing and find themselves making frequent oral presentations. This section provides links to some key sites to help when the Writing and Communication Center is not open or when you can’t find an open appointment, or when you are not on campus.
- MIT Writing Subjects: Comparative Media Studies/Writing offers many writing courses, and students may major, minor, or concentrate in writing. For non-native speakers of English, the English Language Studies department offers several courses as well.
- MIT Communication Intensive (CI) Courses: As another way of helping students prepare themselves for life in and beyond MIT, deparmtents offer CI courses that feature writing and speaking components.
- The Mayfield Handbook of Technical and Scientific Writing (MIT only)
- MIT Libraries
- Other MIT Sites: Several students activities and sites include writing and speaking, such as Angles (Essays from MIT’s 21W.730, 21W.731, and 21W.732 courses), Rune (MIT’s “official literary and arts magazine), The Tech (MIT’s oldest and largest student newspaper), Debate (MIT’s debate team), Toastmaters, and Arts at MIT.
- Brown University’s Writing Center (several useful resources)
- George Mason’s Writing Center (several useful handouts)
- Purdue University Writing Center (one of the first and still one of the most complete writing center web sites)
- International Writing Center Association (here you can find information on writing and links to many other writing centers and their resources)