On the third floor of the Idaho Commons, between the Honors Program office and the Career Center, lies an office full of writing advice and citation style guides.
To Tutor Lorrae Fox, The Writing Center is one of the most important resources to the University of Idaho campus.
Fox, a graduate student, said the Writing Center not only provides tutors to help students improve their writing, but it also serves as a place where students can access basic writing resources or study.
“We have an extensive library where we have guides for different citation styles,” Fox said. “Some people come here to study or use the computers.”
While it can get a little noisy at times, she said the center serves as another place to study for students.
UI established the Writing Center in 2000 and Mary Ann Judge, Writing Center director, said it has been helping a diverse range of individuals ever since.
“We work with students from all over the world. We have faculty members asking for help,” Judge said. “From freshman through graduate students to visiting scholars to faculty, we”re sort of it.”
Judge said the Writing Center operates through appointments, which students can schedule with tutors by calling or stopping by the office to set something up at a later time.
“If we”re not busy and someone came in we would help them, but we don”t set aside time for drop-ins,” Judge said.
Fox said the center keeps records of students who meet with tutors because some classes, like English 109, require students to visit the Writing Center at least once during the semester.
“If someone has signed up for an appointment, we have them fill out a record card,” Fox said. “At the end of every session, your tutor will fill out what you worked on during the session.”
Fox said these forms are also useful because returning students may not always have the same tutor, and the card allows different tutors to understand what a student has or has not worked on.
When it comes to choosing a tutor, Fox said students can either work with the same tutor regularly or work with a new tutor every time.
“We encourage students to try a few different tutors,” Fox said. “We don”t get offended if one of our regulars has gone to someone else, we appreciate that sometimes a different perspective is really helpful.”
Fox said the Writing Center isn”t exclusive to English classes or essays, either. She said tutors have looked at presentations, essays, reports and anything to do with writing, including papers on biology, environmental science, natural resources and business.
Judge said the Writing Center currently has 15 tutors and they are always looking for more. She said anyone interested in becoming a tutor can check out the link on the center”s website.
“Tutors who are just starting out first take an internship for one semester where they work in the Writing Center and take a class about how best to tutor students,” Judge said.
The Writing Center is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. almost every day, and Judge said it”s a place where students will not regret spending their time.
“It always helps, no matter what, to get feedback on your writing,” Judge said. “We help students get feedback on their writing, work through writer”s block, and we learn as much from students as they learn from us.”
Corrin Bond can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @CorrBond