NUS Writing & Communication Hub is a friendly and welcoming space open to all members of the NUS community. We provide regular individual writing consultations and group workshops on rhetorical skills, revision strategies, and the conventions of style and structure appropriate to different modes of writing. As consultants, we are able to provide general feedback about the articulation of ideas, tone, audience awareness, argumentation, structure, grammar, clarity, and style, regardless of the discipline, at any stage of the writing process. While we retain a focus on curricular academic writing, we are also happy to support co-curricular and extra-curricular writing endeavours. We all share the same goal of helping students to come to a deeper understanding about their own writing processes.

Faculty & Staff

Carissa Foo
Director

Dr Carissa Foo is the Director of the Writers’ Centre and a Senior Lecturer at NUS College. She is a literary critic and fiction writer. She received her Ph.D. from Durham University. Her main research interests include twentieth-century and contemporary women’s writing, spatial theories, queer studies, and phenomenological approaches to literature. She has published on modernist women’s writing, and is the author of two novels, and the recent short story collection, No Wonder, Women (Penguin SEA, 2022).

Farheen Asim
Senior Executive

Farheen is a Senior Executive at the Writers’ Centre, and a graduate of the Class of 2020 from Yale-NUS College majoring in Philosophy. As an executive, they offer writing consultations alongside managing the Centre’s various programs, including the Peer Tutoring program, Academic Workshops, and Thesis Bootcamps. Farheen also works with centre staff to conduct academic research in Writing Centre Practice, and coordinates annual conference trips with faculty and students. Outside the Centre, Farheen organises community visual arts events including life drawing sessions, zine making workshops, and more. They have previously worked on programmes with the National Gallery, Singapore Art Museum, and Grey Projects. You can find them climbing or taking aerial dance classes when they're not at the movies.

Samantha Yap
Executive

Prior to joining the Writers' Centre, Samantha worked in the intertwined capacities of a writer, curator, and arts administrator, in the visual arts field as well as in publishing with Epigram Books, where she oversaw content and author relations. She graduated with a BA (Hons) in English Literature and Art History from the Nanyang Technological University of Singapore. In her creative projects, she seeks to channel and foreground feminist perspectives. Her recent exhibitions include Ongoingness (2022), Gillman Barracks, and Time Passes (2020), National Gallery Singapore. At the Writers' Centre, she enjoys getting to know different writers and journeying with them to chart and get to better places with their writing. She will also be attending to the various programming and operational needs of the Centre, with a focus on managing creative writing programs. Outside of work, you can find her ruminating about art, movies, books, astrology, and finding her next spicy meal.

Ila Tyagi
Writing Lecturer

Dr. Tyagi is a Lecturer at NUS College and the NUS Libraries Writers' Centre. She has taught the courses "Global Narratives" at NUS College and "Literature and Humanities 1 and 2" at Yale-NUS College. Her electives are "Hollywood in the 1930s," "TV Sitcom," and "Korean Popular Culture." Dr. Tyagi received a BA in English Literature from Brown University in 2009, and an MA in American Studies from Columbia University in 2013. Upon completing her PhD in Film and Media Studies at Yale University in 2018, she arrived in Singapore for the first time, drawn to the way it combines her favourite aspects of the two countries she grew up in, India and Kuwait. Her experience as a writing advisor includes serving as a Writing Fellow for three years at Brown, and as a Writing Consultant for three years at Yale.

Lawrence Ypil
Writing Lecturer

Lawrence Lacambra Ypil is a Senior Lecturer at Yale-NUS College. He received an MFA in Nonfiction Writing from the University of Iowa and an MFA in Creative Writing (Poetry) from Washington University in St. Louis on a Fulbright Scholarship. His work explores the role of material culture in the construction of cultural identity and draws from the intersection of text and image, poetry and the lyric essay. His latest book, The Experiment of the Tropics, was a finalist at the Lambda Awards, on the longlist for the Believer Book Awards and was the co-winner of the inaugural Gaudy Boy Book Prize. Recent work include Ventanilla: Duet, I. You know I was sentimental during the thought of the house and other collaborative projects exploring history, documentary poetics, and the visual arts. He teaches poetry and hybrid writing.

Graduate Writing Peer Tutors

Agimaa Otgonbaatar
Graduate Programme: MD programme at Duke-NUS

Bachelor’s Degree: Life Sciences (BS with Honours, Yale-NUS College)
Language: English

Agimaa is currently pursuing an MD degree at Duke-NUS and has previously worked as a writing tutor at Yale-NUS College for three years. She has personal and tutoring experience with academic science writing including research proposals, undergraduate/graduate module assignments, and large bodies of work such as theses and capstones. As a liberal arts college graduate, she likes working with students from diverse backgrounds and disciplines to help them find and strengthen their personal voices in their writing. She avidly reads memoirs, has perfected the art of spending time with friends, and tries to find balance in the hectic medical school life!

Lee Jia Wei
Graduate Programme: NUS Integrative Sciences and Engineering Programme (ISEP)

Bachelor's Degree: Life Sciences (BSc with Honours, NUS)
Languages: English, Mandarin

Jia Wei is a PhD student in the NUS Integrative Sciences and Engineering Programme. She is interested in research in the areas of bioinformatics and epidemiology, specifically exploring how the interplay of genetics and the environmental exposome influences the development of allergy in early life. Jia Wei enjoys writing because she feels that putting her ideas into words brings clarity of thought and is always excited to help others with their writing! Her experience lies in research papers, scientific manuscripts and popular science writing. She has recently graduated with a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Life Sciences from NUS, specialising in Biomedical Sciences, second majoring in Statistics, minoring in Public Health and in the NUS College programme. In her free time, she enjoys reading, journaling and hiking.

Venus Dulani
Graduate Programme: Urban Planning

Undergraduate Writing Peer Tutors

Alexandra Ang
Graduating Class of 2026, NUS

Major: Sociology, with minors in Global Studies and Anthropology
Languages: English, Tagalog, Mandarin (Elementary)

Alex is a Sociology major with minors in Global Studies and Anthropology. As a peer writing tutor, she aims to demystify writing processes and provide support based on different styles and personalities. Her experiences as a writer for the Philippine Daily Inquirer as well as features editor for her school paper and multiple NGOs helped her gain experience with collaborative ideation and editing. During her time in the IB programme, she devised strategies to help peers gain confidence writing for humanities subjects. Alex’s love for the written and visual arts spills over to her fascination with science fiction and frequent visits to museums and art galleries.

Arthur Fong
Graduating Class of 2026, NUS College

Majors: PPE (Philosophy, Politics & Economics) and Philosophy (second major)
Languages: English, Cantonese, Mandarin

Arthur is a PPE major and Philosophy second major. An avid reader of philosophy and theology, he loves mulling over deep questions over drinks or coffee. Having experienced the pain of writer's block and the agony of being too much of a perfectionist, he wants to make writing less painful for others, regardless of the phase of the writing journey they are at. He is keen to work with anyone who wants to start brainstorming, concretise rough ideas into words, or express their written ideas more clearly. As one who has felt ashamed coming to the Writers' Centre without a complete draft, but has always come out feeling refreshed, Arthur hopes to make consults an accessible and safe space for anyone feeling lost in their writing journey.

Ashley Tan
Graduating Class of 2026, Yale-NUS College and NUS Law Double Degree

Intended Minor/Major: Literature
Languages: English, Mandarin (Conversational)

Ashley is a junior at Yale-NUS, a second-year law student, and a huge coffee lover. Unable to choose what she wanted to study, she decided to study more courses at university. She is excited to hear and learn about the experiences and majors of her peers through the tutoring sessions. Through peer mentoring, she hopes to help her peers convey their ideas clearly, letting their creativity fully shine through their work.

Austin Ho
Graduating Class of 2026, NUS College

Majors: Economics and Philosophy
Languages: English, Mandarin, Hokkien

Austin is an Economics major with a strong interest in formal models for social and political philosophy (just a PPE major in a trench coat, really). He is also a managing editor at The Red Stone, an undergraduate journal of philosophy, and has experience working with authors to refine submissions for publication. Like some of the other tutors here, Austin is fairly adept at turning coffee into essays; he can help you talk through your ideas (which he thinks is essential to good writing), and with a little patience and practice, make you a coffee-to-essay machine too! Outside of class, you can find him doing even more readings, and “horror of horrors” sending his friends some, too.

Aw Hang Bin
Graduating Class of 2026, NUS College

Major: Computer Science
Languages: English, Mandarin

As someone who has always been captivated by the expressive power of writing, Hang Bin quickly found solace at the Writers’ Centre where he grew to understand the truth behind the saying, "Two heads are better than one". Armed with lessons from experienced mentors, he hopes to help foster a culture of support for those seeking to enhance their writing skills, conquer writing-related anxiety, or simply have someone to chat with about writing.

Chong Zhi Yang
Graduating Class of 2025, NUS College

Major: Psychology, minor in Management
Languages: English, Mandarin

Zhi Yang is a Psychology major (also NUS College/University Scholars Programme) who deeply enjoys reading and discussing ideas. Having been a pure Humanities student since young, he has experience discussing ideas related to Literature, Linguistics, and History. Zhi Yang believes that the basis of all good writing is fruitful and meaningful collaboration – be it a calm and serene exchange of ideas, or a heated thrashing of arguments. As his peers would tell you, being messy and disorganised is just a typical day for Zhi Yang. But this is exactly why he aims to show how even if one has trouble expressing their ideas, or if their drafts are always a mess... there's always a way to turn that piece of writing into a fun and memorable read with a little bit of discussion and patience.

Dylan Chan
Graduating Class of 2026, NUS College

Majors: Sociology and Literature
Language: English

Dylan is in some ways, like you. A student in NUS. An essay writer just trying to get a draft out. A person who has felt the pains of putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard). This is why he wants to help others as a peer tutor. In consults, he hopes to offer a sharp eye, fresh perspectives and a gentle undoing of assumptions that could lead to new ideas, storylines, argumentative logics or even personal branding angles. Let's explore together!

Eswaravaka Keerthana Reddy
Graduating Class of 2026, NUS College

Major: Business Administration
Languages: English, Hindi, Telugu

Keerthana is a second-year NUS College student who is majoring in Business. As a Humanities Scholar in Junior College, she is experienced in writing essays but has also felt the difficulties of writing academic and literature essays. She hopes to help her peers find ways to better frame and put across their ideas in their work, and is keen to be part of their writing process.

Freddy Chong
Graduating Class of 2025, NUS College

Majors: Sociology and Statistics
Languages: English, Mandarin

Freddy is a final-year NUS College student, majoring in Sociology and Statistics. As a polytechnic graduate, he felt ill-prepared for university writing in his first year. Writing, to him then, is a medium to liberate one's thoughts and fears. Yet, academic writing has its own set of demands and rigour, which may instil anxiety in novice writers. He empathises with the fears and self-doubts that his peers may face in academic writing. Through supporting his peers as an active listener, he hopes to inspire them to approach writing as a mindful activity for personal growth. A free-spirited wayfarer, Freddy enjoys walking around neighbourhoods and in exploring new spaces.

Han Xin Ping
Graduating Class of 2026, NUS College

Majors: Political Science and Economics
Languages: English, Mandarin, Thai (Limited), French (Limited)

Xin Ping is a year 3 Political Science and Economics student with a passion for languages that extends beyond the classroom. She's recently embarked on a journey to unlock the wonders of Thai. This love for languages isn't just about fluency; it's the thrill of exploring new cultures and perspectives through the power of words. In her free time, you might find Xin Ping curled up with a captivating audiobook (because sometimes listening counts as reading, right?) or planning her next adventure. But her wanderlust extends beyond physical destinations — she loves helping others embark on journeys of their own, expressed through clear and impactful writing. Whether you're brainstorming ideas, wrestling with sentence structure, or just need a friendly first reader, she is here to support you in crafting a piece that truly reflects your voice and ideas.

Leong Kar Wai, Adeline
Graduating Class of 2026, NUS College

Major: Global Studies
Languages: English, Mandarin, French (Limited)

Adeline is a Global Studies Major from Singapore. An avid reader and writer since young, she enjoys applying this passion in helping her peers navigate various writing projects. Prior to her college career, Adeline interned at SPH Media as Journalist for The Straits Times, secretarial and strategic role for The Business Times. She understands that writing can be a tricky process, and hopes to help her peers better express, present and structure their thoughts in writing. Outside of the Writers' Centre, she enjoys learning languages, travelling and exploring Singapore with friends.

Lex Lee
Graduating Class of 2027, NUS

Major: History/Philosophy
Language: English

Lex is a second-year RC4 resident whose long-term goal of doing historiography “the study of the construction of historical knowledge” keeps dragging him on side quests. Previously, he has tutored students of diverse backgrounds and introduced them to key historical concepts in volunteer programmes centred in Marine Parade, through gamification and clear content delivery. To him, writing is unnecessarily a kept gate to academic pursuits, and should not be the deciding factor stopping you from exploring untrodden ground. Achieving clarity and precision of language and argumentation are the areas he focuses on throughout the writing process. In his spare time, Lex is an avid board gamer and necessarily appreciates the fundamentals of any engine builder, including getting started on academic writing: with a strong, rigorous planning process and clear ideas and lines of development, the paper writes itself. More or less, anyway.

Loh An Lin
Graduating Class of 2025, NUS College

Major: History, with a minor in Chinese Studies
Languages: English, Mandarin
Peer Tutor Certifications: Big Writing Projects

An Lin is a final-year student of History, Chinese Studies (minor), and NUSC (USP). She spent the last year in Beijing with the NUS Overseas Colleges (NOC) and is glad to be back. She remembers (fondly) the stumbles and missteps she made as a first-year student transitioning to academic writing for the first time, and hopes to offer a little guidance, care, and reassurance to peers in their writing journey. She was a professional theatre practitioner before she realized history was her first love, and can also be found wrangling her projects, papers, and peers* into submission. (* in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu).

Loh Ye Han Brian
Graduating Class of 2025, NUS

Majors: Chemistry (NUS), International Liberal Studies (Waseda)
Languages: English (Native), Japanese (Elementary), Mandarin (Functional)

Brian is a 4th year NUS – Waseda Double Degree Student. Through tutoring, he wishes to dispel the notion that Science students cannot be proficient in the Arts. As a (primarily) Science student, he understands the frustrations as well as challenges that non-Arts students face and hopes to be able to help people develop their own ways of expressing themselves in their writing. An avid fan of all things Japanese, he enjoys binge reading (and watching) manga and anime in his free time. He also has a soft spot for cats, and is often found trying to get the attention of the UTown cats (with mixed results).

Lois Naomi Ang
Graduating Class of 2026, NUS College

Major: Political Science
Languages: English, Tagalog, Hokkien (Elementary), Mandarin (Elementary)

Naomi is a Filipino and Chinese international student from the Philippines. After accidentally making her way into NUS College, she has committed to being buried in readings and essays as a Political Science major under the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Naomi decided to become a peer tutor to help other lost souls navigate their way around writing, and hopefully even love the process too! Outside of writing, Naomi also likes to debate (it's an excuse to argue with people and travel), swim (both in the USC pool and the ocean), and play mahjong (her friends say she's addicted).

Mahima Hari
Graduating Class of 2026, NUS College

Majors: Philosophy, Politics, and Economics, with a minor in Gender Studies
Languages: English, Tamil, Mandarin (Conversational)

Mahima is a writer of poetry and fiction, and has been branching out into mixed media styles of writing and art. She has been published in several literary magazines, such as Antifragile Zine, Sploosh! and Pareidolia Literary. She's had the privilege of being in creative writing seminars since primary school. She has taught English to primary and secondary school students, and is committed to working with students in a way that demystifies academic and creative writing. She understands that writing is a deeply personal endeavour that requires a different approach for every student, and is looking forward to helping every peer be more comfortable and confident in their writing, understanding their purpose-audience-context, going beyond PEEL, and writing to achieve the best result in their projects. Outside writing, Mahima can be found tearing up outdated posters and snapping pictures with her digital camera for her zines, or watching plays and listening to musical theatre!

Pan Xinping
Graduating Class of 2026, NUS College

Major: Computer Science
Languages: English, Mandarin

Sarah Zafirah Bte Noor Ashikin
Graduating Class of 2027, NUS College

Majors: English Literature and Theatre Studies
Languages: English, Malay

Sarah is a sophomore at NUS College. They enjoy writing plays and poetry, and is of the mind that writing is both practice and process. Sarah joined the Writers’ Centre team as she would like to be there for other writers in the NUS community, just as they have supported her in her own creative and academic writing journeys. She believes that two heads are always better than one, and hopes to provide support and solace through providing a second opinion, working through a draft, or collaborating on a piece. When they’re not writing, you can often find Sarah deliberating on what colour to paint their nails next.

See Yi Siu Karen
Graduating Class of 2025, Yale-NUS College

Major: Urban Studies
Languages: English, Mandarin

Karen is a final-year urban studies student from sunny Singapore. Studying an interdisciplinary major has exposed her to varied writing experiences, ranging from close analysis of a building to a policy memo. Besides writing about buildings, she has written news articles, poetry and written in Mandarin. She believes that good writing comes in different forms and is excited to collaborate with new writers to highlight the author's unique perspective in different forms.

Seung Eun Leticia Lee
Graduating Class of 2025, Yale-NUS College

Major: Environmental Studies
Languages: English, Korean, Portuguese (Intermediate), Spanish (Conversational)

Leticia is an Environmental Studies major from South Korea. She understands the anxiety and challenges that often accompany the writing process. As a peer tutor, she is passionate about working with students through each stage of writing, helping them express their ideas in a clear and structured manner. She believes that tutoring sessions can feel like a form of therapy, where as students discuss their ideas, they make their own realizations about what they want to convey. Through collaboration, she hopes to make the writing process more approachable and enjoyable! Outside of writing, she is an avid coffee lover, adores her dog, and enjoys watercoloring.

Sheriah Peries
Graduating Class of 2025, Yale-NUS College

Major: Environmental Studies
Languages: English, Sinhala

Sheriah (she/they) is an Environmental Studies Major from Colombo, Sri Lanka. She dabbles in creative and non-fiction writing and the occasional academic paper or two to help her share her thoughts and ideas about the world we live in, particularly concerning gender, the environment and social inequality. Sheriah believes that writing is a collaborative process, and enjoys helping others wrangle their big ideas into polished final works, and learning something new along the way! When they aren't exploring Singaporean hawker centres, they can be found trying their hand at theatre, reading and wildlife spotting in nature reserves with friends.

Sophia Wing Lum Chok
Graduating Class of 2025, Yale-NUS College

Major: Urban Studies
Languages: English, Cantonese, Mandarin (Proficient), Korean (Conversational), Spanish (Intermediate)

Born and raised in New York City, Sophia has a myriad of interests ranging from wrestling to cooking to city development. She is especially passionate about communication, language, and writing — thus becoming a Peer Tutor. Having heavily utilised the Writers’ Centre throughout college, she is excited to give back by guiding others in their writing. Sophia is most proficient with argumentative and history papers, creative writing pieces, and journalism. She loves engaging in the social aspects of writing, whether it be brainstorming arguments together or reworking the piece to a better shape. Through consultations, she hopes you walk away feeling less intimidated by the writing process and see progress in the work you produce!

Suman Padhi
Graduating Class of 2025, Yale-NUS College

Major: Economics, minor in Arts & Humanities
Languages: English, French, Hindi, Odia, Latin, Ancient Greek

Suman (they/them) is an Economics major, whilst minoring in Arts and Humanities at Yale-NUS. They consider themselves a third-culture kid, having lived in several countries growing up and becoming a polyglot from their childhood. They currently serve as Co-Editor in Chief of The Octant, Yale-NUS' student publication, and as a writer for Wingspan, Yale-NUS' alumni newsletter publication. Besides journalistic writing, they are also fond of creative non-fiction and poetry, focusing on creative writing as part of their minor. With experience in various different fields of writing, they're happy to help you in whatever type of writing you are looking to work on--whether it be research, essayistic, or something technical. Suman sees writing as a journey, a lifelong one, with there always being something to learn at every stage in the process, and at any age. As a peer tutor, they hope to help you become more comfortable in your writing and your shoes as a writer.

Tricia Sin Sze En
Graduating Class of 2026, NUS College

Majors: Political Science and History
Languages: English, Mandarin

Tricia is a Political Science and History student in her second year at NUS College. Her relationship with writing has been tempestuous. As a frequent rambler and habitual procrastinator, she is intimately acquainted with writing blocks. (In fact, she had one while writing this!) Rather than acting as discouragement, these experiences have become a source of motivation for Tricia. As a tutor, she draws from her past to empathise with students, and centres her teaching ethos around grace. She especially enjoys reading work from new students. To her, writing is an individualised journey that she enjoys tracing; each written work contains parts of a writer’s personal history. Apart from the Writing & Communication Hub, Tricia can often be found in the Central Library, looking for books on her newest research interest (currently Peranakan history) or at UTown Starbucks, hopefully not spilling coffee on laptops again.

Yehoon Ahn
Graduating Class of 2025, Yale-NUS College

Majors: Mathematics, Computational and Statistical Sciences
Languages: English, Korean

Yehoon is a third-year MCS major from South Korea. With an interest in journalism, he has worked for a magazine and a Singaporean news publication. His reading interests tend to change, but for now, he is interested in reading religious texts and personal essays. Yehoon is an amateur but passionate tennis player. Besides good tennis sessions, Yehoon appreciates well-written news articles, good coffee, and quality screen-free time. He finds joy in helping others with their writing; he is excited and honored to work with the NUS community to grow together as writers.