By: Isaac Marvin Tsingano
The Tutoring and Academic Support Center (TASC) is home to the Writing Center. This is where students bring their papers, lab reports, essays and other forms of writing to receive feedback and guidance from Writing Consultants. The Writing Center is open to all students, whether you are sure of your paper and just need a second opinion, or you don’t know where to begin and need assistance with brainstorming. All you need to do is log into Navigate and schedule an appointment to meet up with a Writing Consultant from the Writing Center.
The following are some of the tips that students may use to get more value from Writing Center appointments.
Identify Specific Areas Where You Need Support
Be clear on the areas that you need feedback on when you meet with the Writing Consultant to discuss your paper. That way, the Writing Consultant focuses on the need and addresses it accordingly. However, if you are stressed and not sure where to begin, that is okay too – a Writing Consultant is able to assist you to get started on your writing. One way of communicating the specific area you need assistance with is by choosing from the menus when making the booking as shown in Figure 1 below. Explaining the exact area that you need help with when scheduling an appointment has the advantage of alerting the Consultant to plan for the appointment and have resources at hand for a more personalized approach. Where you have multiple needs, it is important to prioritize and communicate to the Consultant so that the most important ones are dealt with first.
Research Prior to Your Appointment
The appointment should start somewhere, and a draft is a good starting point. If you have one, bring a draft to the appointment, even if it’s rough. Both you and the Writing Consultant can then build from the draft in coming up with a polished version of the paper. Bring feedback from your professor as well as the rubric to the appointment if you have it. This will allow the Consultant to match their recommendations to what the instructor requires. As I have highlighted in the above paragraphs, you can still come and meet with a Writing Consultant even if you do not have a draft and need help with brainstorming or developing an outline.
Be Ready to Participate
As opposed to lectures where the instructor talks whilst learners listen, Writing Center appointments are interactive. Writing Consultants, who are from different disciplines and backgrounds, and who have different personalities, all have one thing in common: they want to help you. As part of the learning process, they will ask how, why, and what questions about your paper. You should be prepared to fully engage with the Writing Consultant, that is, answer questions, read your work, edit the paper, ask questions, and discuss the Writing Consultant’s recommendations. The appointment becomes more useful if you engage. Avoid distractions during the appointment. Have your phone on silent so that you focus on the engagements with the Writing Consultant.
Be Receptive of New Perspectives
The Writing Consultant gives you a reader’s perspective of your paper. Be open to their suggestions and consider incorporating them into the paper. Be careful not to take the Writing Consultant’s suggestions as a ‘quick fix’ but rather use the appointment to learn how you can improve your future writing. Writing Consultants are more interested in you learning concepts and strategies that help you to come up with good papers. For instance, a Writing Consultant prefers to teach you how to recognize patterns of grammatical errors, so you learn to fix them yourself rather than giving you the correct grammar. Learn something, take notes during the appointment, and ask for clarity on strategies that you are not sure of.
Visit the Writing Center Regularly
Writing is one skill that you perfect through constant practice. Visiting the Writing Center to review your papers regularly will improve your writing skills. Remember to make sure you seek to learn from the Writing Consultant and not just get a quick fix to a paper.
To sum up, a Writing Center appointment is most beneficial if you are aware of the exact need that you want the Writing Consultant to address. However, it is important that you do some research before the appointment so that you can engage with the Writing Consultant. Remember to bring drafts, instructor comments and assignment guidelines for appointments so that the Writing Consultant can focus on giving more personalized recommendations. Above all, it is important for you to know that the craft of writing can only be perfected through constant practice, so it is important to visit the Writing Center regularly and get tips on how to develop as a writer.
In conclusion, I will show you the initial steps you will take to schedule an appointment in Navigate:
