McKinze's Reflection on the Semester

One of the best things about my job as a tutor is that I seem to learn something new every session. My writing process has developed tremendously during my time in the Writing Center, and my writing skills have greatly improved. One of the greatest improvements I have personally made this semester would definitely be my use of APA format. As an English major, I typically use MLA format in all my courses, but I have learned that various majors and degrees use different types of writing formats. This semester, we have had many Capstone students request assistance on their assignments, and I have had many students request help with APA format. I had never worked with APA before, so it was something I had to learn in order to better help other students. During appointments earlier in the semester, I actually learned the format along with the students I was assisting and I have not stopped learning about APA.

A few weeks ago, I worked with a student via email who requested assistance with her APA format in her Capstone project. She was extremely frustrated with APA and felt as if she could not get the hang of it. I was able to share my experience of learning APA format with her, and she seemed to relax. I think she needed to know that I was not an expert in APA and that I was just a student like her; I had to learn the format, too. It can be extremely frustrating, and I see so many students who become upset with themselves when they do not fully understand APA guidelines. I try to always remind them that I was in their shoes at one point and that every expert in APA, including their professor, was once a beginner struggling with the same issues.

Remember to check out the Writing Center page on the RSU website for some helpful links and a template for APA format. Here’s another helpful link with some general questions about APA.

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-McKinze

Abby's Reflection on the Semester

Writing as a Process

Working at the Writing Center has helped me tremendously to change my ideas of the writing process. I am so thankful that I have been able to spend a large part of my senior year working with other students as a writing consultant under Dr. Beam. Not only has helping other students with their assignments helped boost my confidence in myself as a writer, it has also showed me how far I have come since freshman year. The same exact problems that I had with capitalization, punctuation, misplaced modifiers, and formatting, are the same issues students now turn to me for help with. I find that I am easily able to connect with other students who are trying to learn how to fix their mistakes because I have made the same ones. Often, I will tell students that I also had trouble or even continue to have trouble with aspects of writing in order to encourage them that we will both learn how to become better writers together. 

I have acquired the most knowledge about the writing process through the students taking Composition I and II in particular, because their professors often require them to pre-write, make an outline, and then work on writing drafts of their papers. I knew that these were the steps, but I have not always been forced to follow them in this order. Mostly I have jumped from a prewrite or brief outline to *boom* a paper. However, for larger papers, such as Capstone, there is a much more complex process. Since I have spent the past two semesters working on my Capstones, I have seen my projects go from an idea scribbled on paper to something I did not expect it to be as I handed it in. Through drafting, peer reviews, and research, I would find that my projects would continue to change before they were finalized. Breaking large projects down into various drafts can make the work more manageable and less frightening. I am glad that I am able to help instill better writing habits in others, so maybe when they become seniors, Capstone will not be quite as stressful.

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Remember that you can schedule an appointment with the Writing Center when you are at any stage of the writing process, not just when you are working on your final draft. In fact, I would encourage you to come see us when you are in the prewriting and planning stages of your paper so that we can make sure that not only are you fulfilling the prompt your teacher has given you, but that you are also able to make your paper organized and flow well together. Here is a copy of the link to our page on the RSU website so that you can schedule an appointment.

Happy Writing and I hope that you all finished the semester strong!

-Abby

What I've Learned as a Writing Consultant: Hayden

Throughout my time in the Writing Center, I have mentioned many writing techniques and tips I use in my own writing. For example, reading one’s paper aloud can make a WORLD of difference. This is something I often tell people to try, but don’t do myself because of time restraints or other excuses I forge during the writing process. However, during my many appointments, I have realized the necessity of reading aloud the significant impact it can have as a writer.

I consistently find myself reading (in my head) my papers and thinking, “This sounds great!” But the minute I read it aloud, I get a taste of another perspective. Reading aloud, especially to an engaged listener, gives writers an idea of how other readers will receive a piece of writing. It can be very difficult to understand what words fit where and how they will sound when you don’t hear them out loud.

Working in the Writing Center has reminded me to take my own advice when it comes to the writing process, particularly with reading aloud. I have gained a further appreciation for this editing technique and use it on (just about) all of my papers, and I highly encourage any writer to do the same!

What I've Learned as a Writing Consultant: McKinze

My time in the Writing Center has taught me so much about working with others, reflecting in on myself, and about writing in general. Many students have come in asking for help formatting their papers in MLA and APA format. While I am still learning about APA format, I am very comfortable with writing in MLA format. As an English major, all our papers are required to be written in MLA. I have become so familiar with it that I actually completed a Works Cited page recently without looking at any supplementary materials. I did not even realize I had done so until after my last entry was completed and I was very shocked. I went to the Purdue OWL website at https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/ to make sure my citations were correct and was surprised to find that my entries adhered to MLA guidelines. After having to always look up how to cite things in my Everyday Writer, I felt a sense of accomplishment knowing I had finally learned some of the citations. 

Aside from the technical side of academic writing, I have also learned how important all the various stages of writing are. I had always skimmed through brainstorming and pre-writing because I found them to be very boring, tedious steps in the process. After seeing how helpful some students found those steps, I began utilizing them in my own writing and have found the stages very useful. I find it very helpful to write out my ideas and any additional notes or questions because this enables me to see which idea would be better suited for an assignment. It also makes me really think about what I would be more interested in writing, which would lead to the production of a better paper than if I wrote about something I was not particularly interested in.

I have found that creating an outline in the pre-writing phase is very effective when I finally start typing a paper. If I have it set up logically with my main ideas and supporting details, it is much easier to make the paper flow smoothly and the writing process is actually quicker. Visually seeing what the ideas are and how you have connected them makes it easy to spot any issues with transitions and coherency. Adding these two steps to my writing process has really helped me organize my papers and has also made writing a much easier and faster process.

To any students who are having trouble thinking of a topic for their papers or getting started on writing their papers, I would strongly recommend utilizing these steps. Trying jotting down some ideas and thinking about what you could do with them in your assignment. By doing this, you can see what could and could not work and you would also be able to gauge your own interest in the topic. If you have trouble figuring out how to organize the paper, write down all the main points you want to hit, then plug them into a logical outline. Just use roman numerals, letter, numbers, or anything else that will help you organize. The first main point will be your introduction and thesis, and any following points will be where you plug in your main ideas, topic sentences, and supporting details. This will ensure your paper flows logically and transitions smoothly. Your last main point should be your conclusion, which summarizes your main point and makes your final statement.

Adding these two small steps to your writing process will greatly aid in the development of any paper. 

-McKinze