Everyday Thoughts from the Writing Center: Lessons Learned

A common misconception about tutoring services is that they are only for students who have minimal experience in the field (i.e. writing, science, math, etc.). Coming to the Writing Center for tutoring and requesting help can benefit every student from a first-year freshman to a fifth-year senior and beyond. After all, there are professional consulting firms all around the world that get paid the big bucks to assist businesses with major projects. My work thus far in the Writing Center has helped me understand how beneficial seeking advice can really be.

When I was hired to be a writing tutor for Rogers State, I had a general idea of what to expect. I knew I would be helping students with their papers; anything from brainstorming, to producing an outline, to helping with the perfect finishing touches. In many ways, I would be acting as a consultant. I also believed in that misconception that I would mostly be working with the freshman class. I couldn’t have been more wrong, and the variety of students I have encountered has taught me a valuable lesson. Everyone can use some help.

One of the first tutoring sessions I was involved with happened to be a senior working on capstone project. Obviously, this was much different than what I had expected. As it turns out, he was a really good writer. He was organized and had thought out his paper carefully. He said he had always had success with his writing assignments in other classes, but for whatever reason it simply wasn’t working out with this particular teacher. Of course, he was a little discouraged, but here he was seeking advice. It made me think about how I would have reacted if put in the same situation. As a senior myself, I sometimes think that I have everything figured out, and that my way is the right way. It is easy to get defensive of criticism, and I admired the way he was handling himself. He was open to suggestions and advice to make his paper better.

I realized that I can get so caught up in giving advice that I forget all of these resources are available for me too. I hope that after this experience I will utilize the many tutoring and learning services offered at the university more to make my future projects the best that they can be. Never be afraid to ask for help. I’ve learned that even the most experienced writers can benefit from another set of eyes. I can’t imagine a situation when seeking advice would fail to be beneficial. Just remember to go into it with an open mind!

Rogers State offers a variety of  tutoring services on campus and I encourage everyone to look into them. For more information on the Writing Center youcan click on this link. Do you have a busy schedule? We can also assist you online (via email, video chat, or instant messenger).

So, whether you have a hard time writing a grocery list, or are about to publish the next New York Times bestseller, a little help will never hurt!

Good luck!

Kali

Everyday Thoughts from the Writing Center: Fulfilling Work

Hi, RSU students and faculty! My name is McKinze Hefner. This is my first year as a tutor in the Writing Center, and I have learned so much. Being a tutor has taught me to recognize the strengths and weaknesses in others. Every student at RSU is required to take Composition I and II, so, essentially, all students are writers. However, how strong of a writer a student is all depends on the strength of the student. Some students are not strong writers, but this does not mean they cannot produce a good, academic paper.

As a tutor, I have encountered both types of students, but I have noticed that all of the students who come to the Writing Center are always striving to be better. I had an appointment with a non-traditional student who had not been to school in at least eight years. She started the appointment by telling me she was not a strong writer and apologized for what she referred to as her “horrible writing.” I responded immediately with encouragement and told her that what she had written was only a first draft. I explained that first drafts are never very good in general and that is why students should always have their papers looked over by others.

After we finished the session, she was much more confident about her paper and seemed much happier than how she was in the beginning. I have encountered many other students just like her, but I always remember that every paper can be transformed into a solid academic essay. Everyone is capable of being a good writer, and students who come to the Writing Center asking for help are those who show the desire to improve their writing. Helping other students is very fulfilling, and I have learned just as much from them as I hope they have learned from me. 

-McKinze

Fall 2014 begins...

Welcome to the Fall 2014 semester, RSU students!

 The Writing Center is here to support ALL college-level writers at RSU on all 3 campuses on-ground, online, or over the phone. We also have a website where we describe and explain our services and policies.

There are a few things to remember when you're ready to come talk to us about your writing. For example, we prefer that students make appointments but take walk-ins when we can. Also, it's good to know in advance that we will not provide a full session on the paper due date--though you can ask a few, quick questions, and we'll do our best to answer them. The good news is that you don't have to have a paper draft before coming to see us! We'll work with you at any point during the writing process--from brainstorming and outlining to revising a full draft.

If you can't make it to the Center during our regular 8-5 Monday-Friday hours, consider an over the phone, email, video chat, or instant message (Gchat) appointment. For more information about scheduling writing help over the phone or online, click this link.

Last, I wanted to tell you about our free online writing resources available at this link. We've got information about all kinds of citation styles (including MLA, APA, Chicago/Turabian, and more) and college writing guidelines.

Need writing help? Just ask!

Happy writing,
Sara Beam, Writing Center Coordinator

Writing Center Video -- Made with Animoto

Rogers State University Writing Center

Interested in learning how to use Animoto? Just ask!

RSU Writing Center Tip: How To Use Evidence in Body Paragraphs (bonus: learn about Prezi)

Students often ask me how much evidence they should use in a paper in each paragraph. I've created a visual explanation using the free online presentation tool, Prezi, to share my answer with all of you. Have a look at the "How To Use Evidence in Body Paragraphs" Prezi by clicking here. Just click the right and left arrows underneath the slides to move backward or forward through the presentation.

If you're interested in creating your own Prezi, let me know. I'd be glad to walk you through the process of creating your own student account and composing your own presentation with this tool. Their slideshows are more dynamic, in terms of transitions and slide design, than those you can create in Microsoft PowerPoint, I think.

Happy writing,

Sara

P.S. Don't forget about the free writing resources available through our website. You can find help with MLA, APA, Chicago Style, and other citation styles, as well as with grammar, spelling, and punctuation issues. 

RSU Writing Center Tip: Help with Resumes and Cover Letters

Technical Communications

Writing for the Professions

Tech Writing

Business Writing

These are the sort of terms we give to writing that is composed for an audience of business-minded folks, people looking to become employed, to hire employees, to manage employees, etc. I'm working on incorporating some of this kind of writing into my Composition courses for two main reasons:

1. It's writing! Those same concepts of writing process, purpose, and audience are just as important to this sort of writing. They translate across boundaries and are valuable in all majors.

2. A great writing exercise to employ (see what I did there?) is the job application materials assignment. It encourages students to think about their future, research potential employers, practice writing for a specific audience, familiarize themselves with the job hunting and hiring processes, generate templates for use during future job searches, and learn about how design can complement document function.

RSU Career Services can help you with your job search and has posted some resources to help you generate documents like resumes and cover letters.

Here's one more resource you could use as you work: the Resumes and Job Application page of the Bedford/St. Martin's Writing that Works textbook, 11th edition. Oh! And, if you have a copy of The Everyday Writer, check out chapter 64 (starts on page 552), "Writing for Business," for more models and advice.

Did you know you can bring job application documents to the Writing Center for help? We can help with any and all college-level writing tasks--including resumes, cover letters, and any other writing required during a job search. Just email writingcenter@rsu.edu for more information!

~Sara

RSU Writing Center Tip: Evaluating Web Sources

Source

Sources of information that you find through the University's Library catalog and databases are a bit easier to judge than sources that you find out there on the web at large. This is because the sources students and faculty can access through the catalog and databases are presented in a standardized manner, and you can find information about the author, article title, journal title, date of publication, etc. in pretty much the same place in every record.

So, what are the best practices for evaluating those sources of information you find out there on the web? Click here to view tips and read a quick demonstration web site evaluation from The Bedford Research Room.

After evaluating a source and finding it fit to use, you may need help citing it in your paper. Click here for help with MLA citation, and click here for help with APA citation.

Good luck on your search,

Sara