SUU's Writing Center is Here to Help
Posted: April 07, 2022 | Author: Kaylee Condie | Read Time: 4 minutes
The essay is due in five days. Like usual, life got in the way and the assignment slipped through the cracks. You take the time to read over the instructions - you know what’s expected, but every time you look at that blank document, you can feel your lips tighten into a grimace. Why did it have to be a writing assignment? Every time you write one paragraph, you end up deleting over half of it in frustration. Eventually, you’re able to put the paper together, but it still doesn’t seem to flow. All of the information is there, but something is off. Something you can’t quite put your finger on.
For any and all of these writing problems, the Writing Center at Southern Utah University is ready and willing to help. Once you make an appointment, they will not stop until your paper is the very best that it can possibly be. They offer their services, free of charge, to students, faculty, and members of the community, from 8:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m., Monday through Thursday in room 101 of the Braithwaite Center. On Fridays, they are open from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. and on Saturdays, they’re open from 11:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m.
“Every writer needs three things: Time, a friend, and Sour Patch Kids. The writing center offers all of them in the same space,” said Dr. Julia Combs, writing center director.
She stresses that the biggest obstacle to good writing is procrastination. Students who come to the writing center avoid procrastination, get another set of eyes, and make the writing process a bit more pleasant.
Resources
Faculty Resources
Computer Lab - Located in the writing center, professors and faculty members can schedule time in the computer lab for their classes with access to 23 computers and the onsite writing tutors available.
Group Mentoring - Writing center tutors are available to come to classes and introduce students to the writing center and the many ways that it’s able to help students throughout the year.
Student Resources
Tip Sheet - Lists several links to helpful writing aids available to any and all writers.
One on One Appointments - This allows the student to get undivided attention from one of the many writing tutors and gives them the best feedback available on their paper. Students have the option of in-person, live zoom, Saturday, or written feedback appointments.
Tutors - Students from all different majors specializing in listening to the writers, helping them say what they want to say in their writing material. They offer their skills as writers in order to help others.
Writing Fellows Program - Writing Fellows are a special type of writing tutor. They help students meet the requirements for courses with substantial writing assignments that span the length of the semester. They meet with students from the class several times during the semester. Writing fellows have often completed the course.
Events
Scriblerian Contest - The only contest that the writing center advertises. It’s held once a semester and it allows any essay written for an English 1010 - 2010 or any other General Education class to be submitted for the chance to win between $15 and $25. This semester’s deadline is April 8th.
Pizza for Papers - April 18th, 5:00 p.m. - 12:00 a.m. is an open writing and pizza session at the writing center. As long as there are students writing in the center, pizza will be delivered. You don’t have to have an appointment, it’s just a place to come and write surrounded by the positive writing energy in the center to get the papers for the finals done.
If you’re someone who writes essays in advance, a person that lives with a pencil behind your ear and a notepad in your hand, the writing center can still give your paper the leg up it needs. A fresh pair of eyes can catch that stray typo or fix that small grammar error that somehow managed to slide past spell-check. Everyone could use a little help every now and then.
“I like having the other viewpoint to make sure what I say on the paper lines up with what I wanted to say in my head,” said Sydney Beal, a tutor at the writing center and a junior at SUU, who is majoring in English and is the University’s Poet Laureate.
The next time you see that impending essay deadline pop up on your canvas dashboard - take a deep breath. You’ve got this. Read the directions, research your topic, and put it together on paper. When you’ve got it where you want it, or know that it needs something more, pack up your laptop and head over to SUU’s Writing Center so you can make it even better. Even if all you have is a blank piece of paper, come down to the center. The tutors are there to help at any and all stages of the writing process. Remember anyone who writes anything is a writer, and every writer needs a reader.