Writing for Change: Influence, Lead, and Create through Public Writing

Faculty Advisor: Assistant Professor of English, Northeastern University

Research Program Introduction

From the stirring words of an inaugural poet to protest posters, viral memes, and infographics released by the CDC, the last year alone has highlighted the power of public writing and the way that our words and compositions can shape our social, cultural, and political environments.

In this program, students will draw on their experiences and interests, research and analyze others’ writing, and identify writing tools and strategies to bring about change. They may also draw on their own experiences and involvement in social change issues. Students may explore topics at various scales, from a neighborhood or small online group effort to a national or international movement.

Students will learn to identify the tools, audiences, and occasions behind writing for change, analyze and evaluate their own and other writers’ choices, and use these tools to create their own messages and compositions. 

Students will also learn general and subject-specific research and academic writing methods used in universities and scholarly publications. After completing the program, they will focus on individual topics and generate their own work products.

Final Deliverables

Upon completion of the program, students will generate a final written composition. There are different forms and approaches students can select from. See below for specific prompts: 

• Analysis Essay: Find an example of writing that calls for social or political change. What tools and approaches did the writer use, and why? Why were these choices effective (or not) for the occasion and audience? 

• Research Essay 1: Choose a social change issue or movement. Trace its history and evolution. What messages and methods have driven the movement? Who led and shaped these strategies? Who was the strategy meant to influence? What, if any, changes would you make to the approach? 

• Research Essay 2: Identify a person whose writing has been influential in creating change for their community (this could be a nation, a neighborhood, or anything in between). Analyze at least three examples of this person’s writing. Identify the tools that they use and the choices that they make. What makes their writings effective? Is it different from or similar to others’ writing on this issue, and if so, in what way(s)? 

• Interpretive Response: In her poem for the 2021 U.S. Presidential Inauguration, “The Hill We Climb,” Amanda Gorman wrote, "We've learned that quiet isn't always peace, and the norms and notions of what "just is” isn't always justice." What does that mean to you? What events or experiences do you think of when you hear or see those words? 

• Creative Composition: Identify a cause, issue, or movement that is important to you. Create a writing project related to that topic. You aim to identify the tools, audience, and occasion, refine a message, design a composition to carry that message and craft the piece. In addition to the piece you create, you will write a 2-page reflection about your choices as a writer and why. 

Program Details

• Cohort size: 3 to 5 students

• Workload: Around 4 to 5 hours per week (including class and homework time)

• Target students: 9 to 12th graders who want to be leaders, are drawn to activism and hope to evolve their approaches, and/or are passionate about reflecting on the current world’s affairs.