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Philosophy and Procedures of The Learning/Writing Center (LWC)
The following statements are intended to answer student and faculty questions about what they can expect from a visit to the LWC.
Philosophy and Procedures
The purpose of the LWC is to provide individualized assistance to students and staff who request help with their writing. Peer tutors, known as Writing Consultants, are trained to read and discuss student texts in ways that address the student's immediate concerns and needs. The student may drop in, pre-schedule conferences, or schedule online writing assistance. A faculty member may use the LWC Referral form to recommend that a student seek assistance:
Referral Policy
The following Centers on campus offer additional assistance to students who are engaged in specific writing tasks or have particular needs regarding reading and writing:
- Career Services: Career Services is located on the lower level of the University and provides assistance to students seeking employment upon graduation.
- In addition, Career Services offers assistance with formatting and reviewing resumes, cover letters, and graduate school applications, and offers several sample documents for student use.
- The ESL Corner is also located in the LWC on the lower level of the University. The Center offers writing, English grammar (the eight parts of speech and sentence structure), pronunciation, spelling, and includes an interactive listening lab for independent activities.
LWC assistance is intended to supplement the student's writing skills, whether the student is a freshman or a senior, and at whatever point the student has reached with particular writing assignments. For example, the student needs help getting started on an assignment, organizing a paper, revising a draft, sharpening the focus of a section, understanding a grammatical point, or citing research in a text.
Writing consultants are not instructors, though they may offer ongoing support with particular problems the student may wish to work on. Writing consultants are not editors of student texts. (We define editing as the act of reading and correcting all or most of the grammatical and mechanical errors.) Writing consultants are knowledgeable readers prepared to help the student think through his or her writing by offering new perspectives.
Confidentiality and Professor Referrals
- Records of student tutorial are confidential; only the LWC Coordinator and staff have access to them.
- Professors may refer students to the Center by filling out a referral form (available from the coordinator and staff of the LWC), preferably with the student so that he or she understands the reason for the referral. The tutor will send a short report on the session to the referring professor.
- For group referrals, please request that someone from the Center come to your classroom to assist your students. This must be arranged in advance through the Center by submitting a Service Request Form, which should indicate the services your desire.
The LWC Information
Location: The Lower Level of the University, (Department of Student Affairs)
Phone: (202) 478-8200 x 407
Times: Monday to Thursday 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM
Friday 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Saturday (Every other) 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM
Sunday 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM
Writing Consultants Will Follow These Guidelines:
- Ask the student to read the paper aloud in another location outside of the LWC.
- Talk with the student writer from a reader's perspective by discussing, for example, generalizations that need additional support.
- Ask the student to identify his or her concerns about the writing assignment to establish priorities for the conference.
- Consultants will help the student writer learn to find errors such as spelling, punctuation, usage, or grammatical errors, and correct them:
- Point out an example of the error within the draft;
- Explain the rule(s) that guide correction of the error, using handbooks or other reference materials to clarify the principles.
- Ask the student to identify and correct other examples of the error, thus aiding the student in developing his or her own proofreading strategies and skills.
Appointment Policy
- We recommend that students make appointments far in advance for Research Papers ten (10) pages or more. For nine (9) pages or less, walk-in appointments are often possible if a tutor is available.
- All students should come to the LWC prepared to spend approximately 30 - 60 minutes working with a tutor, although some sessions may be shorter depending on the length and quality of the writing and on the kind of assistance requested.
- Students, who have less time to commit to a session, severely limit the amount of assistance that a tutor can offer.
- The services of LWC are designed around revision and continuous improvement of student writing; therefore, students must remember that writing is a process that involves many steps.
- Computer research does not require an appointment; however, students using the computers are required to sign-in at the front desk upon entering the center.
Conduct Policy
- The LWC offers a quiet environment where writers can receive assistance with writing projects, dialogue with other writers, draft essays, research using the computers, and handbooks relating to a number of disciplines.
- The goal of the staff is to help students as they work through the process of writing; this includes offering tutorial assistance as well as guidance using computers and other available resources.
- Students using the LWC are expected to treat the staff and other students with courtesy and the equipment with care.
- Individuals engaging in behavior which disrupts the learning-conducive environment of the LWC will be asked to leave. This includes, but is not limited to; excessive talking, the use of vulgar language, cell phones, walkmans, improper use of services/materials, and other behaviors which disrupt those who are trying to work in the center.
Grammar
Dictionary and Pronunciation
Spelling & Mechanics
Research
Writing
Citing References
APA - MLA - CBE- CHICAGO Formats
Tutorial
ESL Information
Reading and Listening
Praxis Test (Information for Early Childhood Majors)
Specialty Catalog
Free Teachers' Stuff
Teaching Handicapped Children
Reading/Book/Literature
Math
Science
Social Studies
Multicultural Education
Music and Movement
Families and Communities
Families and Children
Violence, Stress and Grief
Art and Creative Expression (Adults)
Art and Creative Expression (Children)
Using/Borrowing LWC Materials
- The LWC offers a variety of materials available for student and staff use.
- In addition to computers, the Center also has several writing and style manuals, grammar textbooks, and documentation guides which include the Modern Language Association (MLA) Publication, and the publication of the American Psychological Association (APA).
- SEU students, faculty, and staff are free to use these resources (without an appointment) during the Center's hours of operation.
- All materials must remain with the LWC.
- The Center welcomes suggestions, etc. If the Center does not have a particular style manual or writing resource that you think it should, please let us know.
LWC Services
Brainstorming topics; analyzing issues and literary themes:
- Planning, organizing, and developing.
- Writing introductions and conclusion.
- Grammar, mechanics, sentence structure, and the writing process.
- Thesis development.
- Synthesizing research and bibliography pages or documentation.
- Workshops on grammar, the writing process, documentation, literary analysis, and resume writing.
Workshop Topics include the following:
- Paragraph Development
- Sentence Elements (syntax, structure, diction, and grammar)
- Comma Splices and Fused Sentences
- Proofreading
- Subject/Verb and Pronoun/Antecedent Agreement
- Comma Usage I and II
- Writing about Short Stories (critiques, synopsis, response papers, etc.)
- Poetry Analysis
- Literary Analysis
- Basic Math
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