Write Where You Are
Sept,2008

The WCMC-Q Writing Center is holding hours in the Distributed eLibrary Reading Room on Tuesday evenings in an effort to make its services more easily available to students. From 4-7pm (6-9pm during the month of Ramadan), Writing Center assistance can be found in the Library next to a large banner announcing their presence.

Autumn Watts, the Writing Center Coordinator, first brought the Center's services to the library last spring. The additional access to the Center's practical advice was well received by students, so the practice continued this term. "It made sense to be there at the time when students are there anyway," Watts explained.

Despite its name, the Writing Center focuses on all aspects of language and communication - reading, speeches and PowerPoint presentations, debates, as well as the writing process. The Center is prepared to offer advice in either individual consultations or tutorials for classes or groups. Visitors generally seek help with reports, abstracts, essays, presentations, letters of recommendation, and even admissions essays.

But Writing Center advice is not limited to course work. "I love it when students come by to just talk to me about their poetry," Watts said. "It doesn't always have to be academic." Nor is the Center is not just for students. Faculty and staff are equally welcome to bring in any questions about how to write or communicate more effectively.

The Writing Center has, so far, been one of the hidden gems of WCMC-Q. Watts currently runs the Center out of her office - C055 in the Pre-medical faculty area - a welcoming space small enough for comfortable one-on-one consultations, with a table large enough for students to spread out their notes or just do some quiet reading.

Although ideally positioned to work closely with the Pre-medical faculty, Watts is aware that the office can seem out of the way to students. "The Writing Center hasn"t been very visible in the university community," she noted. "I think there are people who still don't know that we have one."

Bringing the Center's services into the Reading Room is just one way Watts is changing that. "I've tried to make it a friendlier, more accessible space so that people know that it's here and they can take advantage of it."

In addition to increasing exposure, Watts sees a number of advantages in bringing the Writing Center out of the office. The informal setting means that she can help people she might not see otherwise. (Although walk-ins are welcomed, students often feel they need to make appointments to come to the office.) The satellite hours also allow students to access both the Writing Center and Reading Room in one stop - a convenience especially useful for those working on research projects.

Watts is also looking to the web to expand Writing Center access. She is creating a library of electronic resources for the Center web page, and plans to hold live chats so people can access advice from anywhere. The Center's new peer-consultation program, planned to launch after this Ramadan, will provide more weekend and evening hours to better accommodate student schedules.

To stay up to date with new developments at the Writing Center, keep an eye on their web page at qatar-weill.cornell.edu/education/premed/writingcenter.html.