Writing Center
The Writing Center offers Cornish students, faculty, and staff resources for developing their writing and reading, sharing their work and ideas, and receiving thoughtful feedback on work in progress in a practical, friendly, collaborative environment. Students can come to the center to work on their writing and receive individualized guidance at any phase of their writing process, regardless of their level of development. Students can work with us in one-on-one tutoring or small group conferences, pick-up grammar and editing handouts, checkout books about different kinds of writing, and access to 14 Apple computers running OSX and a laser printer. The Writing Center is located at MCC 311.
Writing Lab Hours Spring 2008
| Mondays & Wednesdays | 10am - 5pm |
| Tuesdays | 9am - 3pm |
| Thursdays | 9am - 12:30pm |
| Fridays | 10am - 1:30pm |
Tutors and Office Hours for Spring 2008
Anna Balint, Writing Center Tutor
| Monday | 1pm - 5pm |
| Tuesday | 12pm - 3pm |
| Wednesday | 2pm - 5pm |
John Hagman, Writing Center Tutor
| Monday & Friday | 10am - 1pm |
| Tuesday | 12pm - 3pm |
| Wednesday | 2pm - 5pm |
Morgen Bell, Writing Center Tutor
| Tuesday & Thursday | 9:30am - 12:30pm |
Contact Linda Krutenat at 206.726.5166
To use the computers or reserve the Writing Center at other times.
Resources for Writers
- Tutoring
- Computer Lab for Word Processing, Internet Research, E-mail, and Library Catalog
- Handouts & Books
- Writing & Revising (at all stages of a writing process)
- Editing
- Evaluating Sources
- Understanding Plagiarism
- Citing and Documenting Sources
- Close Reading
Resources for Teachers
- Writing to Learn
- Designing Assignments
- Responding to Writing
- Evaluating/Assessing Writing
- Plagiarism
Student Writers
Students can work with us in one-on-one tutoring or small group conferences, pick up grammar and editing handouts, check out books about different kinds of writing, and access personal computers and a laser printer. The writing lab is staffed with lab assistants during weekly lab hours.
ESL & International Students
The center provides language assistance for International and ESL students, including help with expanding vocabulary, understanding assignments, conveying ideas, understanding sentence structure, and working with verb tenses and articles. We offer one-on-one tutoring and ESL resources, both at the center and on-line, which are helpful in developing effective reading, writing, and speaking.
On-line Resources for Learning English as a Second Language >>
Faculty
Faculty may supplement their own classroom writing instruction through student referrals, requests for in-class workshops, and presentations and dialogue about writing pedagogy.
Appointments
Students may make appointments or come by during drop-in hours posted each semester outside the center.
- View Writing Center calendar
http://ical.mac.com/srush/Writing32Center - Subscribe to Writing Center calendar (requires a calendar application that supports the iCalendar standard)
webcal://ical.mac.com/srush/Writing32Center.ics
Frequently Asked Questions
Why use the Writing Center?
We work with students to address these and other writing questions:
- Have I done what the assignment asks me to do?
- How do I make an instructor’s assignment my own?
- How do I get ideas for my paper?
- How do I anticipate the needs of my paper’s audience?
- Are all the parts of my paper clear? Do the parts connect?
- Does my paper have a direction yet?
- Have I left something important unsaid or included too much?
- How do I write with other sources?
- How do I give credit to the sources I've used?
- What are the pros and cons of using Internet-based sources?
- How do I make sure I don’t have a lot of grammar mistakes?
- What is plagiarism and how do I avoid it?
- Where can I find ESL resources?
Students can work on their reading, writing, or research during lab hours.
Can students visit the Writing Center if they don't have anything written yet?
Students may come with whatever they have: notes, scribbles, ideas, worries. We can work from where they are to where they want to be. For us to be useful, we absolutely need students to bring a copy of their assignment.
What happens at the Writing Center?
Students can meet with tutors one-on-one or in a small group to talk about how they understand their assignment, and what kind of paper they are writing. We will talk about the students’ objectives for their papers, their concerns, and together will review strategies for generating ideas, revising, organizing, editing, or proofreading their papers. The Writing Center’s role is to provide support and guidance, not to correct or edit the students’ writing for them or tell them what to write. We do not assign grades, homework, or grammar drills.
Can students drop off their papers for the Writing Center to proofread and correct?
We do not proofread, edit, or correct student papers. We do not tell students what to write. The center is a resource that offers personalized, individualized guidance to help students gain agency and success as writers and learners. We help students to build confidence in and develop their own writing by helping them learn and practice strategies for writing, critical reading, and revising their work.
How can students make an appointment?
Stop by Cornish Downtown, MCC 311, during lab hours or call 206-726-5166. Appointments are preferred; drop-ins during lab hours are taken on a first-come, first-served basis. Appointments are 30 minutes long, starting on the half-hour. Students need to bring writing assignments, notes, and drafts.