The Writing Center

Being a freshman in college is hard, everything is different, you are independent in everything and all of the work gets harder. In your first composition class here at IUP many people are afraid of the essays. Rumor has it they are longer and harder to write. Lucky for all of us, IUP has some pretty great resources, and the one to help us with all of our writing assignments we have the Writing Center at our disposal.

What is it?

The writing center is a free tool available to all IUP students that assists students in developing their writing. The writing center is made up of tutors, who are other students and some retired faculty. These trained tutors can help students with every phase of the writing process from research to proofreading. Besides tutors there are also other very helpful resources to the students like books, videos, and other example essays the students can use to help their writing. The writing center can help students with spelling, vocabulary, research, structure and just about everything a student can need help with.

Where is it?

The Writing Center is located in three different locations. The main location is in Eicher Hall Room 218. This location has computers with Microsoft Office, books and multiple tutors available and is open Monday thru Thursday 9:00am- 4:00pm and on Fridays 9:00am- 3:00 pm. The second location is on the first floor of Stapleton Library behind the reference desk near the green booths. This location has two tutors present and has available laptops with internet access. The library location is opened Monday thru Thursday 8:00am- 11:00pm and on Sundays 5:00-10:00pm. The last location is online, this location you need to make an appointment 24 hours ahead of time to work with a tutor over WebEx, an online conference program. The tutor will be able to share screens with you and discuss your paper over microphone and speakers.

How does the Writing Center Work?

The writing center works by the students coming in with a pencil, the rubric, and their writing, if it is started. Then they can either continue to type on the computers or they can ask for one on one assistant from the tutors. Normally, the tutoring last 35-45 minutes and they will help you with whatever you want if it’s revising or looking over your word choice.

What are the pros of going to the Writing Center?

Some people feel really uncomfortable when they hear the word tutor or that someone else reading their work and this deters them from coming to the writing center. However there is some positives that come with going and working with someone at the writing center. A lot of the time professors will give you extra credit if they get a report saying you came to the writing center. Also if you go to the writing center you will probably get a better grade on your paper. And who doesn’t love that.

How do I contact them?

You can contact the writing center by calling (724)-357-3029 or emailing them at w-center@iup.edu. Or you can visit their website, http://www.iup.edu/writingcenter/default.aspx. On their website you can see their hours, their address, and you can schedule your online tutoring.

Works Cited:

"Locations." - Writing Center. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Oct. 2014.

"Resources for Writers." - Writing Center. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Oct. 2014.

"The Writing Center." Writing Center. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Oct. 2014.

"Iup Writing Center - Bing Images." Iup Writing Center - Bing Images. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Oct. 2014.