Ruth Berson

Ruth Berson

Senior Tutor

  • BA in History, University of Wisconsin
  • MA in English and American Literature, Washington University in St. Louis
  • PhD in English and American Literature, Washington University in St. Louis

Dr. Berson has 12 years of experience teaching composition at Washington University and St. Louis Community College-Meramec and an additional 15 years of experience as a writing tutor at The Writing Center. She also coaches elementary-school and high-school students in writing. Although her house and desk are a mess, and she finds getting herself to write an uphill battle, she is good at helping other people generate and organize their ideas.


What brought you to The Writing Center?
Doreen Salli. She called me every semester from the time The Writing Center opened until the day I realized that she was correct in saying that tutoring is fun, and…no papers to grade!

What do you like most about working with writers at The Writing Center?
Every session is like a semester’s education in something I didn’t know about before – rainforest law, opportunity cost, the Chinese diaspora, measuring hysteresis in lung tissue and many, many other subjects.

What do you find most challenging about writing?
Getting started, keeping going and finishing up.

What advice do you have for writers?
Talk to a writing tutor. It’s the only way.