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Our Mission The Writing Center at Eastern Oregon University is dedicated to providing a supportive environment where student writers work closely with qualified writing tutors to strengthen writing and reading skills in order to become better learners, communicators, and thinkers. Our practice is informed by research which shows that good writers rarely work in isolation, but instead need responses to works-in-progress. Writers learn to write better by writing, talking, and getting feedback on their writing, and then rewriting and rewriting. Our peer writing tutors are trained to create provocative student-centered conversations about writing, to help writers analyze their own writing processes, and to guide writers at all stages of the writing process. The central mission of The Writing Center is to help writers learn to help themselves as they draft and revise their writing. Our goal is not to just make better papers, but more important, to make better writers. Whom We Serve The on-campus Writing Center is available to EOU students from every discipline, and from every class level At present, the Online Writing Lab (OWL) is available for online students only. Our services are free to all students. The Writing Center also serves faculty by providing workshops, resources for teaching writing across the disciplines, and guides for creating effective writing assignments. See our Resources for Teachers page. Who We Are The Writing Center is staffed by EOU students (peer tutors) who are currently enrolled in or have taken Writing 220 Methods of Tutoring, a course designed to teach writing and learning theory, and to teach tutors how to respond to studentsâ papers with a variety of effective tools, which students then learn to use themselves. Writing tutors come from all major disciplines and are selected on the basis of their writing and interpersonal skills. What We Do Writing tutors can help writers learn
how to: ¬
develop ways of coping with writing anxiety or writing
blocks ¬
learn how to manage their writing time more effectively ¬
choose or clarify an assignment, and to understand the
purpose, audience, and occasion of a piece of writing ¬
brainstorm or plan a response to an assignment ¬
understand the different conventions and expectations
of different academic disciplines ¬ understand the different conventions and expectations of different kinds of writing: personal essay, academic essay, research papers, creative non-fiction, literary analysis, and creative writing. ¬
focus, develop, clarify, refine and organize ideas, helping
them to pay attention to, analyze, and improve their writing process
to create effective writing ¬
discover spelling, punctuation, grammar, usage, and style
error patterns, and learn how to correct their own errors ¬
find and use available writing resources such as handbooks
and on-line resources ¬
develop the organizational and time-management skills
needed to complete essays, or projects involving extensive research
or other forms of investigation ¬ discuss appropriate methods of summarizing, paraphrasing, and documenting outside reading and research What We Don't Do Writing tutors cannot write, proofread, or correct papers for writers. To do so would be a violation of scholarly ethics. The Writing Center is not a fix-it shop or an editing service. One session with a tutor, which is generally 30 minutes long (45 minutes for on-line tutoring), is only a small part of what should be a writerâs much longer process. Writers, not tutors, own their own writing, and are responsible for improving their drafts. Where We're Located The Writing Center is located on the second floor of Loso Hall in the Learning Resource Center. The Writing Center Director's office is Loso 234A. The Online Writing Lab tutor staff is for online students only. See Submit a Draft On-line. When We're Open Because tutors are students, the Writing Center closes for all student holidays outlined in the annual schedule. Beginning in Week 2, the on-campus Writing Center offers Drop-In Evening Hours on Sunday-Thursday from 7-9 p.m. The Online Writing Lab accepts drafts Monday through Thursday noon. Any draft submitted after noon on Thursday will be considered a Monday morning submission. To schedule a session with an on-campus tutor, see Schedule
an On-Campus Writing Tutor Session. To submit a draft on-line (for online and on-site students
only), see Submit a Draft On-line.
How to Reach Us If you have any questions, please contact one of the following: Writing Center Director Donna Evans 962-3465 OWL Coordinator Susan Whitelock 962-3853 Administrative Program Assistant Kathryn Short 962-3663 |