Stephen King said, "Write with the door closed, rewrite with the door open." Though he goes on to discuss that writing exists for writers and readers, King could just as easily have been describing the writing process.
Writing can be solitary, the process daunting. At the
Lamar University Writing Center, writers have the ability to "write with the door open," to write among peers, with help and support available. Whether you have begun to write or need help gathering ideas and planning an assignment, the Writing Center aims to improve your writing.
Whatever your needs, the Lamar University Writing Center is here to help you write on, assisting writers in improving their skills and confidence through online or face-to-face session in the Mary and John Gray Library or its location in Morris Hall. Its staff includes undergraduate and graduate consultants who are trained to assist students across disciplines in any stage of the writing process, including understanding the assignment, brainstorming, outlining, revising, proofreading and reviewing graded papers.
In this Q&A, representatives from the Writing Center answer questions for students to take advantage of the center’s unique services.
Q: What is the mission of the Writing Center?A: The mission of the Writing Center is to help students at any stage of their writing journeys. We assist writers in improving their writing skills and their confidence in their own writing abilities.
Q: What services are offered?A: The Writing Center offers face-to-face and online consultations to help students at any stage of their writing projects. Students can choose between 30-minute sessions or 60-minute sessions and are limited to up to three sessions per week.
Q: Who can access these services?A: The Writing Center offers free writing consultations to all Lamar University and Lamar Institute of Technology students.
Q: How does the Writing Center benefit students?A: By coming to the Writing Center, students can get help with their writing assignments, get helpful writing tips and tricks from the consultants, improve their writing skills and gain confidence in their writing abilities.
Q: What does success look like when working with a student? What is the end goal?A: The main goal of the Writing Center is to help students improve their writing skills. By working with our consultants, students can learn more about every step of the writing process and get meaningful and helpful feedback on their assignments. Ultimately, our goal is to boost students' writing abilities and their confidence in those abilities so that they no longer feel that they need to come to the Writing Center for every assignment.
Q: How does the process work?A: Students can schedule appointments with our writing consultations either in person on the first floor of the Mary and John Gray Library or through the link on our website. These appointments can take place either face-to-face or online. For an in-person consultation, students will be asked their reasons for their visit, details about the assignment they are working on, and what their goals are for their session. For an online consultation, students should have a computer with working speakers, a working camera, and a solid Internet connection. Students who are interested in an online consultation should email uwc@lamar.edu with their LU email address, assignment and/or document at least 10 minutes before the session start time. Students should then check their email for an email from uwc@lamar.edu that will contain a link to Blackboard Collaborate Ultra, where the session will take place.
Q: What kinds of writing can the center help with?A: Our consultants can help students from various disciplines — not just English — with writing assignments, essays, research projects, speeches, articles, technical reports, cover letters, letters of interest, personal statements, conference posters and presentations.
Q: What would you say to students who are hesitant to utilize the Writing Center as a resource?A: For students who are unsure if the Writing Center can help them, I would advise them to come by for a session. Our consultants are all students and understand how difficult it can be to ask for help. Students can also check out our
Facebook page and our
Instagram page for more writing tips and information.
The Writing Center is open for the summer from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays.