As students are well into the fall semester, the Writing Center is becoming busier. The expectations for writing are growing each year as students learn more and become immersed in their classes.
The UMW Writing Center, located in the HCC, Room 429, is a friendly, judgment-free workspace in which students receive assistance from trained peers. Peers assist student writers on whatever facets of writing they wish to work—from organization and brainstorming all the way to citation and grammar/ punctuation. Most importantly, the Writing Center is not a place of remediation; rather, it is a place for students to learn as they write and hone their crafts for careers and professional schools. Peers working in the Writing Center are from a variety of disciplines as UMW students write in all disciplines.
It is the mission of the Writing Center (as well as that of the University) to assist students in becoming competent, confident writers so they are prepared for life beyond the University. According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, “Seventy-three point four percent of employers want a candidate with strong written communication skills.” Regardless of a student’s chosen major, our goal is to assist them in becoming competent writers in an effort to meet the growing demands of employers and professional schools.
Khalil Vest-Sims, class of 2021, says of his experiences with the Writing Center: “I have already used the Writing Center a lot in my first semester here. They help me organize my ideas as well as make a more convincing argument. They help me see how I can grow as a writer.”
Aside from students coming to the Writing Center for assistance, we also send emails to their professors reporting only on what we worked. Anecdotally, professors have reported that they enjoy getting Writing Center Consultation Reports because it allows them to see that students are going above and beyond the minimum requirements. While we do not guarantee grades, some professors have reported that their students usually get at least one letter grade higher on a writing assignment when they come to the Writing Center than when they do not.
Last year, in an exit survey, 100% of students taking the survey reported that they had a good experience with the Writing Center and felt more confident about their writing. Helping students grow as writers is an ongoing process—one that the Writing Center takes seriously. It is a free service to students, and they can schedule as many appointments as they need throughout the course of the semester. By working with students regularly, our ultimate goal is to assist them in becoming more confident in their writing skills with a better ability to find and correct their own errors—a skill that transcends their time at UMW.
Gwendolyn Hale, Ph.D., Writing Center Director/Writing Program Director