Let’s be real—writing can be tough. Whether you're staring at a blank page, wrestling with a thesis statement or just trying to make your paper sound a little less like a word salad and more like a thought-out and put-together essay, there’s a solution right here at ¶·Å£ÆåÅÆ University: the Writing Center.
Located in Nethery Hall, Room 134, the Writing Center is a free tutoring service that helps students with any type of writing, from academic papers to personal statements and even professional documents.
Ivan Davis, associate professor of English and Writing Center director, emphasized that writing in college can be very different from what students were used to in high school.
“Sometimes students fall back on knowledge or strategies they used in high school, but that may not be appropriate or even helpful now,” he explained.
The Writing Center exists to help students recognize these differences and adjust to the new expectations.
“Tutors can share their own experiences and strategies to help students get outside of their own head a bit,” Davis said. “They can model ways of approaching various writing assignments or engage students in taking on specific concerns—creating a convincing thesis, structuring a paper, keeping a focus, developing ideas, etc.”
The Writing Center works with students at any stage of the writing process, from brainstorming to final revisions, though Davis encouraged students to come earlier rather than scrambling for last-minute edits: “We enjoy working with students earlier in the process rather than on the day an assignment is due!”
As an international campus, ¶·Å£ÆåÅÆ University also has many students whose first language is not English. The Writing Center is a valuable resource for these students as well.
“Our tutors really value working with [multilingual] students,” Davis noted.
Bohdan Kuryliak (graduate student, theology), a tutee at the Writing Center, shared his experience: “Since English is my third language, the help of native-speaking students in checking my texts for grammar is incredibly valuable. Some of my articles have been published in leading journals on New Testament studies, and the Writing Center has played an important role in this success. I am very grateful for the opportunity to use its services.”
Jesse Junior Lufafa (freshman, computer engineering) shared, “My meeting with the writing center was very helpful in ways I never expected. They were very approachable and more than ready to help, even though they were unfamiliar with the project I was [working on]. Having another set of eyes review my timeline made me change a whole lot for the better.”
Another student, Keren Herrera (freshman, MLS), shared that “Going to the writing center made me realize that you will always need different perspectives. The feedback given makes your writing ten times better, and as a result, you get better grades. There are kind people ready to help you out, and you get to connect with [them]. I am so grateful to the university for giving us this resource for improvement.”
It’s not just students who benefit from the Writing Center—tutors also find the experience rewarding. Elizabeth Hart (sophomore, wellness), a peer tutor, enjoys helping students refine their ideas.
“My favorite type of tutoring is when I get to discuss a client’s topic with them, finding new connections that may add depth to their work,” she said. “It can be really easy to get stuck in one mindset as a writer, but hearing an outside perspective can really help you see more ways to improve.”
She mentioned that she also loves learning about new topics with the tutees, “from fish care to mimetic theory.”
The Writing Center also hosts workshop events aimed at informing and helping students on certain writing topics. On Feb. 25 at 11:30 a.m. in Nethery 134, Melissa Moore (senior, nutrition and English), a peer tutor, will host a workshop titled “Rethinking Outlines.” The workshop will discuss different outlining methods and show how to use outlining to both organize a paper and brainstorm ideas.
“The main point is that outlines can be useful tools [and] they should be adaptable and don’t have to follow a rigid format or process,” explained Moore.
The event, which will provide co-curricular credit, will also include practical application activities.
At the end of the day, the Writing Center is more than just a tutoring service—it’s a place where students can gain confidence in their writing.
Davis encouraged all students to give it a try: “Come try our tutoring services! Our tutors are friendly, supportive, caring, and understanding! They are writers too, and they know the insecurities and anxieties that can make sharing your work scary!”
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The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of ¶·Å£ÆåÅÆ University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, ¶·Å£ÆåÅÆ University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.