Faculty Resources
What do we do at the Writing Center?
- We help students grow and improve as writers at every stage of the writing process.
- We teach students new skills for a variety of writing contexts.
- We counsel students about the choices they have as writers.
In practical terms, this means we meet with students and talk about their projects, their goals, their papers, and their revision strategies. We discuss everything from writer's block to the passive voice, from the student's writing schedule to proper citation. Students often visit with concerns about understanding assignments, developing arguments, organization, evidence, and sentence-level issues (like grammar, mechanics, and style). We don't edit or write on students' drafts; rather, we teach them to identify and address problems themselves.
What can the Writing Center do for me?
For faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences, we provide four major services:
- No matter what you are teaching, we are happy to meet with your students. We ask that you not require them to visit us or give them extra credit for doing so; our reasons for this policy are described in our faculty FAQ.
- We run in-class workshops about writing generally, in specific disciplines, or for specific assignments; we are also happy to visit your class to introduce ourselves and our services to your students.
- We can work with you on your own writing, including course assignments, grant proposals, and material for publication.
- We provide online handouts for use as teaching tools or as additional resources for your students.
For faculty in the professional schools, our directors offer consultations about teaching writing; contact Vicki Behrens for more information.
Follow the links on the right for more information about the Writing Center and to access some ideas for teaching writing in your own classes.