The Leader

Issue date: 10/10/07 Section: News

One semester ago, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Writing Center was confined to its home location in Curtin Hall, room 382.  The outdated computers and tiny room seemed out of place for a center that hosted up to 1,500 individual tutoring sessions a semester.

Change was sorely needed, and this year the Writing Center finally got it.
 
These days, anyone walking past the fountain outside Curtin Hall can look through the library’s tall glass windows and right into the Writing Center’s new satellite.

While the original center in Curtin 382 is still in operation, the Writing Center satellite adds to the overall space and number of tutors the Writing Center can use at once.

The satellite space is on loan from the library, explained Margaret Mika, the Writing Center Director.  At first glance, the satellite looks like part of the general seating area – but a row of chairs and a sign delineate where the regular library ends the Center begins.

“It is the library, and yet it is the Writing Center through spatial design,” Mika said.
                       
Another welcome change has come to the Writing Center in the form of new computers.  The Curtin location now has updated machines with plasma screens, and the satellite is equipped with laptops that are easy to stow when the tutors pack up the workspace at the end of each day.

“We are very happy with the new computers which we’ve needed for a very long time!” Mika said.

The activity in the Writing Center and satellite has kept pace with the new expansion, and the Center now has three more tutors on staff to accommodate the increased demand.

“We can have five tutors scheduled at a time; instead of maxing out at three, our minimum is three,” said Justin Moody, the Writing Center’s Graduate Assistant Coordinator.

The effects of increasing the available space for tutoring students and staff are unmistakable – the satellite has already been attracting walk-in appointments that the Writing Center may not typically get, Moody said.

One hope for the new satellite is that it will make the Writing Center’s mission clearer to students and staff who may not know how the Writing Center works.

For example, the perception that the Writing Center is a proofreading service is actually opposite of the truth.  The Writing Center staff is a highly qualified group of tutors that helps writers with all aspects of writing including organizing and generating ideas, not just helping writers correct their own grammar.

Another surprise to people that are unfamiliar with the Writing Center is that even experienced writers, such as graduate students and staff, use the Center – it’s not only a place for those who consider themselves “bad writers.”

“We’re all capable of producing pretty bad writing in early drafts,” Mika said.  “That’s why revising is key and why working with a Writing Center tutor can make revising easier, more productive and even fun.”

The Writing Center tutors works with faculty as they do students, Mika said.  For several years, over a third of the people that used the Writing Center have been upper level students and graduate students.

Anyone with a writing project, from the scientific to the poetic, can visit the Writing Center.  Now, thanks to the satellite location in the library, it’s easier than ever to get quality writing assistance.

People who wish to make an appointment at either of the Writing Center’s locations can call 229-4339 or go online at www.writingcenter.uwm.edu.  Also, the Writing Center takes walk-in appointments if a tutor is available.

Need specific directions to the library location?  If you’re in the east wing of the library, you’re almost there.

“Go due east of the Grind.  That’s what I always tell students,” Mika laughed.

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