Two people sitting in the Jacobson Center discussing papers

Jacobson Center for Writing, Teaching & Learning

At the Jacobson Center, we believe that all students, at all levels of expertise, can improve their writing and learning skills. To that end, we offer writing services and resources, public speaking resources, and tutoring and learning specialist services. For faculty, we offer workshops on the teaching of writing, a Mid-Semester Assessment Program, individual consultation and an array of additional resources. Schedule an appointment today.

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Announcements

Jacobson Center Telegram

Issued in early fall and maybe in the winter, too, the Jacobson Center newsletter is aimed at the entire college community of staff, faculty, and students. Its aim is to update the community on the accomplishments of the Jacobson Center staff, to notify it about upcoming events, to offer news specifically for faculty, and to feature a short perspective on writing or the work of the center. Read the Spring 2024 issue here.

Issue #4 of Smith Writes is live!

Smith Writes is an annual publication dedicated to exemplary work by first-year writers in WI courses. The current issue features essays on drag & spirituality at Smith, walkability in American cities, and Mrs. Dalloway as a consumerist icon, among others. You can read the issue here.

Writing in Action

Smith Public Voices

Smith Student Writing in the Mainstream Press

Smith Public Voices spotlights the writing of Smith students published in the mainstream press. In an era of rampant, fractured, uninformed public discourse, and of concerted, systematic repression of many voices, this website, sponsored by the Jacobson Center, aims to strengthen the democratic process by showcasing well-informed, fact-based public pieces written by people whose voices are often silenced and marginalized: young people, women, people of color, non-binary and trans people.

Visit the Smith Public Voices Website

Smith Writes

An Interdisciplinary Student Journal

Smith Writes is an interdisciplinary, multi-genre journal featuring the work of first-year Smith College students in writing-intensive courses. It is edited and produced by students and staff at the Jacobson Center, with the purpose of providing a public space for the best, most engaging writing produced by early-career students. Smith Writes accepts nonfiction in any genre or area of study produced by first-year students in writing-intensive courses at Smith. We are especially interested in work that demonstrates an awareness of readers beyond the gates of Smith and that employs an arresting authorial voice.

Read the Current Issue/Submit

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Of Note

Public Writing Projects from the Classroom Curated by the Jacobson Center

College classrooms are a hotbed of intellectual deliberation and growth, much of which happens via writing. Traditionally, however, college writing has been treated as a silent transaction between students and professors. We aim to change that. Of Note is a curated collection of blog site projects created by students and faculty at Smith College. It is both a living archive and pedagogical document of how technology can promote a more public, engaging, and collaborative classroom.

Browse the Collection

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An Introduction to the Jacobson Center

Writing Instructor Peter Sapira provides a video tutorial overview of the services offered by the Jacobson Center, including Writing Counseling, Foreign Language Tutoring, Public Speaking, Learning Specialist Services, and Student Writing Publications.

Contact Jacobson Center for Writing, Teaching and Learning

Seelye Hall 307
Smith College
Northampton, MA 01063

Phone: 413-585-3056

Hours: Monday through Friday,
8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.

Administrative Assistant:
Cora Lee Drew