Changes at the University Writing Center

Dr. Nikki Caswell

The University Writing Center (UWC) is open to all students, faculty and staff at ECU. Our staff consists of undergraduate and graduate students from across the disciplines and we are ready to help your students with their writing. We can help with all types of writing, including research papers, observation reports, resumes, and more. Also, please let your students know we can help with writing at any stage of the writing process, from brainstorming to proofreading. Students in DE courses can take advantage of our services by using our Online Writing Lab.

One of our changes in Fall 2012 was to move to an online appointment based system for our face-to-face sessions. We are happy to announce that the Online Writing Lab has also moved to an appointment based system. After listening to our students last semester, we found that appointments would help students (and us) keep track of submissions and would allow us to tell students when they would receive their feedback. We felt this would allow students to better plan out their writing process. Students in DE courses can schedule an appointment on our OWL/DE schedule (at any point in the semester), upload their paper (in the appointment itself) and then re-download the paper at the end of the session. Students do not have to be near a computer during the hour of their appointment, so they can sign up for any time. The OWL is still an asynchronous based system. We ask that students submitting to the OWL provide us with their questions and concerns about the piece of writing. Then, the consultants are better able to tailor their feedback to the concerns of the writing. Just like the face-to-face sessions, the OWL is not an editing service, but a space for students to receive reader-response feedback and direction on how to improve their writing. More detailed directions and a Prezi to share with your students can be found on our website.

Students should visit ecu.mywconline.com, select the University Writing Center schedule or OWL/DE schedule, and sign up for a FREE appointment. Student writers may work with peer consultants for up to an hour per appointment. We still welcome walk-in appointments, but scheduled appointments are preferred. In addition to moving to an online appointment system, we have also extended our hours Mon-Wed. We are now open 9am-9pm Mon-Wed, 9am-5pm Thurs, and 9am-2pm Fri.

One event that has been really popular this semester is the in-class presentation. We send 1-2 consultants to your class to do a 15 minute introduction to the University Writing Center. In this presentation, consultants cover how to schedule an appointment, what happens during an appointment and how they can help student writers. We welcome the opportunity to talk to your students about the UWC and what we can do to help them with their writing. If you are interested in a class presentation, please contact the director, Dr. Nikki Caswell (caswelln@ecu.edu).

We are always happy to hear your ideas and suggestions on how to make the University Writing Center better match the needs of our students. Please share your thoughts with us.

Until April, we are temporarily located in 1805 Joyner Library.