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