Over the course of the fall semester, 黑料不打烊's Center for Writing Excellence has adapted to a changing world in order to continue offering the best possible writing support to students, faculty and staff.
The Center for Writing Excellence, the university鈥檚 support system for all cross-campus writing-related activities, is offering a number of new and reimagined services in order to continue supporting the campus community during the ongoing global pandemic.
Within the Center for Writing Excellence, 黑料不打烊’s Writing Center and Writing Across the University have adapted to these uncertain times by continuing to offer in-person resources while developing new virtual services for students, faculty and staff.
鈥淲e think writing is so central to what we do at the university, both academically but also personally and professionally,” said聽Paula Rosinski,聽director of Writing Across the University and professor of English. 鈥淟anguage and writing are primary ways a lot of us live our lives, and so we think it鈥檚 really important for us to keep that continuity.鈥
A new Writing Across the University initiative offers faculty the opportunity to receive聽feedback on writing assignments and supporting materials they design for their classes. Rosinski will personally answer specific questions about a writing assignment or a faculty member鈥檚 evaluation criteria, rubrics or peer-response handouts to help craft materials that achieve course goals and are clear and engaging for students, whether they are learning face to face or virtually.
鈥淔aculty are teaching content through writing, but they鈥檙e also teaching writing,” Rosinski said. “The idea was to quickly get faculty feedback that would help them ensure that they鈥檙e developing assignments that can be productive for students in either context.鈥
The program also offers faculty anonymous feedback on their assignments from two experienced Writing Center student consultants, who will offer insight into how聽students are likely to understand, respond to, and approach the assignment.
Writing Across the University also offers several virtual Writing Boot Camps for faculty and staff to devote regular, uninterrupted time to any personal or professional writing. The Boot Camps, hosted twice a month on Saturdays, have traditionally taken place in person but have transitioned online this semester as a result of COVID-19 safety measures.
The remaining Writing Boot Camps for the fall 2020 semester are scheduled for , and , from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The Writing Center has continued to offer one-to-one and group consultations by approximately 40 trained student consultants. In addition to the typical face-to-face consultations, students now have the option of having virtual writing consultations throughout the semester.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been really important for students to have access to that sort of near-peer relationship both in person and virtually, especially when it comes to writing as it’s something students can be anxious or unsure about,” said Julia Bleakney, director of the Writing Center and assistant professor of English.
The Writing Center is also hosting a number of virtual workshops, including聽, a weekly drop-in writing session聽on Monday evenings open to all students at any time, and the following upcoming workshops:
- Nov. 23:
- Dec. 1:
See the full list of Writing Center workshops here, including workshops offered in partnership with Learning Assistance.
Bleakney says these virtual sessions allow students to stay connected while continuing to hone their writing skills with the support of their peers.
鈥淲e want to try to build community since we don鈥檛 have the same kind of community in person,鈥 Bleakney said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to find other ways to do it.鈥
The Center for Writing Excellence聽is prominently located on the first聽floor of Belk Library. The Center 鈥 comprising The Writing Center and Writing Across the University 鈥撀爄s both a physical hub and a symbol of 黑料不打烊鈥檚 commitment to the centrality of writing to academic, professional and civic success.
Learn more about the Center for Writing Excellence and all of its offerings聽here.