The Writing Center is an untapped resource

The writing center is located in a room at the back of the library. The outside windows are covered in photos of accomplished and famous writers. Inside, students sit in brightly-colored comfortable chairs with computers to study. Writing coaches and writers sit together in pairs, quietly talking over revisions for a paper. This place is such a great resource for aspiring writers, begrudged students stressing over an essay, or anyone looking for a safe and comfortable space to be in the library.

Writing coaches should really be considered your best friends when you’re in the midst of trying to write a difficult paper. Coaches aren’t necessarily expert writers either, but they are another set of eyes that can identify what doesn’t work well in your paper.

Taking a visit to the writing center was transformative for my writing. Before, I had remained in the outer part of the library, struggling by myself to squeeze out a brilliant paper. Believe me, staring at a blank computer screen does nothing for your writing skills. Talking to a writing coach is almost like a therapy session, where you are helped to formulate your thoughts into a nice, coherent essay.

The writing center doesn’t just help you with a singular paper, either. Through writing conferences, I’ve found better ways to organize and develop my entire writing process. Now, I don’t cringe when I’m assigned a big paper to write, because I know I have the skills within me to get it done.

I really believe in the methodology of the writing conference, which assumes that the writer already has the capacity to help their paper be better. First, the writing coach asks the writer what they would specifically like to fix. Then the writer is asked to read their paper out loud.

Reading your paper aloud helps you notice many aspects that need to be fixed, like a certain sentence that doesn’t quite flow as well as you think it should. Most of the time, writers will comment on things they think should be fixed while they are in the process of reading. Once a problem can be identified, it just takes a little effort and collaboration to find a solution. As well as writing coaches, there is also always an English teacher to use their expertise to help out a paper in need.

I am very grateful that the writing center exists, and hope that many more South students will be able to take advantage of this helpful place. Just one writing conference can do wonders for your papers, so much so that you’ll want to come back again and again.