What We Do

Writing center tutors work with writers during 30- and 60-minute appointments to brainstorm, outline, organize, analyze, or revise a wide array of compositions, ranging from papers for introductory courses to capstones and graduate theses, PowerPoint presentations, and resumes and cover letters. These appointments take place either in one of the quiet conference rooms in our central Raynor location or at our satellite location in McCormick Residence Hall.

The writing center is not for "bad" writers or papers; the writing center is a place for all writers who care about their writing. We know that every writer--however experienced, anxious, fluent, or struggling--can benefit from conversation with an interested, knowledgeable peer. We are just as happy to brainstorm ideas and help with other preliminary work as we are to help revise a rough draft or fine-tune a final draft. Although we will assist writers with proper grammatical usage, we cannot copyedit papers; we aim to engage writers in conversations and practice that will help them learn from our assistance and apply that knowledge to their own patterns of error.

At the start of each appointment, we ask writers to share a copy of the assignment and their priorities for the conference. To the best of our ability, we try to read the draft in light of the assignment--often raising questions about whether the draft addresses the requirements of the assignment. Because we are limited to 30- and 60-minute appointments, we cannot address every aspect of a paper that might benefit from revision; the focus of our conversation with a writer is guided by the writer's priorities and our own understanding of the degree to which the draft seems to be responding to the assignment.

Our services are free of charge for all students.