Department Writing Fellow

Are you writing your first philosophy paper, and don’t know where to start? Are you unsure if your paper follows the writing and research norms of academic philosophy? Are you worried that your main argument isn’t coming across clearly or isn’t convincing? Are you struggling to organize all your ideas in a way that makes sense to the reader? Do you need a fresh perspective on your paper to spot potential objections that you might have missed? The Philosophy Department Writing Fellow (DWF) can help with all that.

The Philosophy Department Writing Fellow:

• Holds a “How to Write a Philosophy Paper” workshop at the beginning of each semester for any students taking philosophy courses.
• Meets with students directly, by appointment, to give feedback about papers they are working on for their philosophy classes.

Students taking philosophy courses can make an appointment with the Department Writing Fellow here.

A Message from Our Current Department Writing Fellow

Hello, my name is John Abughattas, and I am serving as the Philosophy Department Writing Fellow for AY26-27. I am excited to work with you all on developing your writing and philosophizing skills. I have several years of experience teaching philosophy as both a TF and tutorial instructor. Though my areas of speciality are in moral and political philosophy, I am able to assist with writing undergraduate papers in any area of philosophy. I can provide assistance at any stage of the writing process including initial brainstorming and deciding on a thesis, outlining, formulating an argument, and revising a draft. I will not conjecture as to what grade a paper might receive. My role is that of writing tutor, not grader or teaching fellow. I am happy to review an already graded paper and its accompanying feedback to help you improve on future assignments.

To schedule a meeting with me, please follow the scheduling instructions at the top of this page. If none of the available appointment times work for you, you are encouraged to reach out to me at “johnabughattas@.g.harvard.edu” to schedule a meeting. I look forward to working with you!

You may find the following writing guides useful:

• https://philosophy.fas.harvard.edu/sites/g/files/omnuum4436/files/phildept/files/brief_guide_to_writing_philosophy_paper.pdf
• https://www.jimpryor.net/teaching/guidelines/writing.html
• https://www.mit.edu/~yablo/writing.html

More Resources

There are many more resources here at Harvard for get support in developing your philosophy writing skills:

• PHIL 98: The Philosophy “Junior” Tutorial is designed to train students to write advanced philosophy research papers and to conduct philosophy research more independently.
• Harvard Writing Center (link): Enrolled Harvard College students can book an appointment with Harvard Writing Center tutors to get feedback on your writing for free of charge. This can be especially useful if your questions aren’t specifically about philosophy writing.
• Harvard Peer Tutoring (link): Enrolled Harvard College students can book an appointment with a peer tutor at no cost. Peer tutors are students who have previously taken a course you are currently enrolled in and can provide academic support specific to that course.