290 KFA
Phone 3608
Monday 8am-9pm
Tuesday 8am-9pm
Wednesday 8am-9pm
Thursday 8am-9pm
Friday 8am-2pm
The Writing Center is a place
where students receive friendly, competent assistance to help
them improve their written work. The Center provides one-on-one
tutorial sessions.
The Writing Center staff consists of undergraduate
students, from a variety of majors, who have been specifically
trained. The director of the Writing Center is professor David
Furniss of the English Department.
The writing center is not a proofreading,
rewriting, or correcting service, or a guarantee of better grades.
It is a place where tutors can help students learn to write
more effectively on their own.
Who can benefit by going to the Center?
Undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in classes
from all subject areas can visit the Center for assistance in
all stages of composing (inventing, revising, editing), and
to improve skills (spelling, punctuation, paragraph development,
organization).
When can students use the Center? Students
can stop by the Center anytime; however, we encourage students
to meet with a tutor on a regular basis if they want to significantly
improve their writing skills. Each tutor works a limited number
of hours; students need to make an appointment ahead of time.
An Introduction for Students on How to Use the
Writing Center
Welcome to the Writing Center! We understand that asking for
assistance with your writing may be difficult. Each of us assumes
that we should be able to write well without any effort. The
truth is that almost everyone feels anxious about writing and
that nearly everyone's writing needs objective feedback and
positive reinforcement. The Writing Center is the right place
to get that kind of assistance.
Writing involves many steps: thinking, re-thinking,
re-stating, organizing, re-organizing, expanding, deleting, re-explaining,
and so forth. Writing is time consuming, and sometimes frustrating.
We would like to simplify this process as much
as we can: first, by getting to know you and how you think and
write, then by pointing out your writing strengths, and encouraging
you to do your best thinking. To do this, we ask questions, discuss,
and brainstorm together. You do the writing, we help with the
process.
Here are our suggestions for receiving the best
help in the least amount of time:
- Before you even begin to write, bring in your assignment
instructions. Talk over the assignment with one of us.
- After you've started to write, bring in a rough draft. We
will read it, ask questions, and help you focus the ideas
and expand the development.
- At your next session, your revised work will be much closer
to the final product. Together we will talk about further
expansion and deletion, transitions between ideas, mechanical
problems, and the presentation of the final product.
"But I only wanted my punctuation checked," you say. Our experience
has demonstarted to us that students often have anxiety about
WRITING. They frequently assume that flawless punctuation equals
fine writing. Effective writing means good ideas carefully explained.
Our interest in The Writing Center is to help you state your
ideas strongly and clearly. We are not a proofreading service;
we are trained consultants, experienced writers, who like to
help students do their best.
