Writing Services

Writing Services, which was once a part of the English department, is just one of the wonderful services that Learning Services has for the students of Elizabethtown College. This semester, the spring of 2008, we have writing consultants working for Writing Services. All of these consultants are students representing various majors who have gone through a rigorous process involving recommendations, and an interview, followed by training sessions each semester.

The mission of Writing Services is to make better writers, not better papers. Writing consultants can help a student at any point in the writing process, from brainstorming to editing drafts. Writing Services is open Sunday through Thursday from 7pm until 9pm for walk-in sessions. Of course, appointments can be made for any time by emailing, calling, or visiting Learning Services. Students who use Writing Services frequently tend to request a specific consultant to work with. Relationships like these both allow the student and consultant to develop a bond and to see more clearly where the student excels or requires extra help.

A student does not need to set up an appointment or come in during walk-in hours to benefit from Writing Services. Two writing consulting rooms are open and available as long as Learning Services is open, unless a session is taking place in one of the rooms. Both inside and outside of the rooms are handouts and books that students can use to better their writing. The computers in the writing consulting rooms have programs such as Inspiration, an electronic graphic organizer, and Dragon Naturally Speaking, which types as you speak, that can be used by students whenever the rooms are available.

Professors of first year students, especially EN100 professors, sometimes require their students to visit Writing Services at least once. I recommend that every student visit our services at least once in their college career. The best thing about Writing Services is that it is free for full-time students! What more could you ask for from a college?