Center for Academic Writing opens its doors

If writing an academic paper makes you break into a cold sweat that has you text messaging friends for help, never fear! The Center for Academic Writing has opened its doors for the first time this semester, just in time to help students achieve their goals of academic excellence in writing.

One of the Center's primary goals is to assist students with their new writing intensive graduation requirements. This is done through the writing intensive peer-tutor program.

"The goal of the peer-tutor program is to help students obtain the ability to both understand content and improve writing skills," said Dr. Kate Hahn, director of the Center for Acadimic Writing.

The peer tutors are chosen by the academic department, then hired, trained and paid for by the Center for Academic Writing. This semester features 10 peer tutors helping in writing intensive courses across five academic disciplines including Biology 305, the Non-Traditional Degree Program 310, Political Science 251, Psychology 202, and Social Work 301.

"The peer-tutor program is an opportunity for students to draft their work with feedback before a grade is given," said Hahn.

Do not let the moniker of "Writing Intensive" fool you: the writing intensive course does not just mean a lot of writing, the content portion of the coursework is equally important. That explains why each individual academic department is responsible for designing the writing intensive curriculum.

The first step on the path towards an official NEIU writing intensive course is obtaining a Writing Intensive Faculty Advisory Committee (WIFAC) approval. In each writing intensive course students must write the equivalent of 15 pages of written assignments. These assignments are due over the course of the semester. Half of the course grade is obtained through writing assignments. The writing intensive course became a graduation requirement for all undergraduate students (including undergraduate transfer students) from the fall semester of 2008 onward.

The Center is also dedicated in supporting faculty by sponsoring workshops for NEIU faculty in how to teach academic writing. This semester, the Center will guide faculty in a 10-week course that supports faculty in the development of teaching writing and its assessment. Shorter faculty workshops are also being offered by the Center.

Whether you are interested in a peer-tutor for your writing intensive class or just looking for a great space to do homework, the Center for Academic Writing facility is open to use by students across campus. The glassed-in facility features wireless access as well as numerous outlets. The Center also offers a laptop loan program, but only to peer-tutor program participants.

The Center for Academic Writing is funded through a five-year title V Grant from the Federal Government. Located on the fourth floor of the Ronald Williams Library, the Center for Academic Writing is a dynamic new part of the university. Contact Kate Hahn at x4490 or mk-hahn@neiu.edu with any questions or visit http://www.neiu.edu/~wip for more information.