The Writing Center here at McDaniel is a safe space where students can receive help with their writing, developing ideas, structuring papers, proofreading drafts, and improving overall writing skills.
Vanessa Flora-Nakoski, Director of the Writing Center, explained, “Statistically, we see mostly first-year and senior students, but beyond that, we see students with all kinds of writing and with all kinds of questions. At its heart, though, most students come for some reassurance as they apply skills they already have. Even tutors come in for tutoring because all writers benefit from conversations with a skilled reader and an outside perspective.”
Students from all majors are welcome and encouraged to use the Writing Center. The Writing Center’s main goal is to teach students techniques that will help them with future assignments. The Center was designed to support students throughout their writing process and encourage them to be more comfortable in their writing skills.
Elana Petrone, a senior and tutor at the Writing Center, said, “Students who come into the Center almost always tell me at the end of sessions how much they appreciated the help and the advice I gave them. I think that being able to experience peer-led tutoring makes students feel more comfortable and helps them gain confidence in their own work and skills.”
“I was very nervous upon entering the first time, but afterwards I felt really confident.” said Ian Macphee, a sophomore at McDaniel who has used the Writing Center.
If you are nervous about using a tutor, Flora-Nakoski reassures that she does not just recruit tutors based on their writing skills, but she looks for caring and thoughtful tutors that will help engage and support students. She trains each tutor herself in a semester long program that breaks down not just writing skills but how to tutor and be able to connect with the students.
“When you get to the Writing Center, you’re going to work with someone who is excited to meet you, trained to help support you, and interested in seeing you succeed!” she said.
Petrone is always happy to see a student return for tutoring. “When I have recurring students, I see them improve a lot when they continue to come in. They also gain a lot more confidence, which shows in their writing,” she said.
The Writing Center is currently located in Hill Hall 102. However, the plan is that next semester it will move to the library. This is a warm, collaborative space where students are welcome to explore their writing either with a tutor or by themselves in a comfortable environment. The center provides one-on-one tutoring for essays, research papers, or any other writing piece that may need assistance with brainstorming, organization, thesis development, grammar, and citations. Students can come in for face-to-face sessions or schedule a virtual session using WCONLINE.
Some common misconceptions are that only students who are struggling in writing need tutoring, and tutors will fix or write the papers for the students. The center is for all skill levels, and it is a space where bouncing ideas around is common. Also, the center believes that the goal of tutoring is to improve writing skills and not just correct mistakes. The tutors are trained to work with the students and not do the assignments for them.
To prepare for each session, students should bring either a rubric, rough draft, specific questions, or anything that would help the tutor understand what they should focus on to get the best outcome out of the student’s time.
This collaborative space is for any writer who would like work or help with other writers to improve their writing. To take advantage of everything the center offers, students can schedule appointments or just walk in. They have the choice of either an hour-long session or thirty minutes. These sessions are covered by McDaniel, and students are offered up to three appointments per week.
? Schedule an Appointment: McDaniel Writing Center Scheduling
? Learn More: McDaniel Writing Center
- McDaniel students should use: writingcenter.mcdaniel.edu