Rewriting the Rules: OSU Writing Center
Tuesday, October 3, 2017
For many students, writing a collegiate-level paper may be a daunting task, but the OSU Writing Center consultants and staff have created a writing resource for students that has grown in popularity over the last five years.
Since moving from Morrill Hall to the Student Union, the center’s reach has spread further beyond the College of Arts and Sciences. It now holds host to many undergraduate consultants from different majors and can help a variety of students in any major through brainstorming sessions, one-on-one sessions and online tutoring services for distance learners and commuters.
Dr. Anna Sicari is the director of the OSU Writing Center and wants to see the center grow even more in the coming years.
“I see the writing center as a space for all writers to talk about all writing,” Sicari said. “I want people to recognize what the writing center can do. It’s not just a fix-it shop.”
Chloe Zoellner is an undergraduate consultant with the writing center and works with many different clients, including a Ph.D. student.
“He was brilliant, but still humble,” Zoellner said. “I think that’s what makes the writing center so cool. You get to read writing from many different people.”
Sicari was quick to note the benefits Zoellner and other undergraduate consultants receive through working at the OSU Writing Center.
“Chloe works with a Ph.D. student in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) field, and that’s difficult,” Sicari said. “The way she is able to come out of that session saying she was able to do that is so impressive.”
Writing isn’t the only thing the center focuses on. There are many other events and opportunities in which assistant director Jenna Neece and coordinator Laura Tunningley elaborated on as initiatives for students.
“We partner with other organizations to do fun events like book talks and to celebrate National Novel Writing month,” Neece said. “This semester we have so many events going on alone that allow someone to interact with us without an individual session. Sometimes those first engagements are the reason someone will come into the center.”
“For our multilingual students, English may not be their first language,” Tunningley said. “They can come and sit in an informal setting and practice their conversational English skills.”
The OSU Writing Center has evolved from well beyond a fix-it shop. The staff explains that students don’t need to have anything written to visit the center. A student can brainstorm for their paper and leave with a valuable outline. The initiatives the center provides to help students succeed are endless and exciting.
“It really allows for collaboration and seeing writing as a process,” Neece said. “You are seeing that process from the very beginning, and we’ll see people come back with their first draft which is extremely gratifying. You can see how much this person’s writing is flourishing.”
The writing process is greatly benefited by smart and willing undergraduate and graduate consultants.
“What I love about the writing center is that I can give my students something to walk away with and add to their knowledge,” Zoellner said.
Sicari and the rest of her staff are building the OSU Writing Center into an invaluable resource for any student at Oklahoma State.
To schedule an appointment or learn more about the OSU Writing Center, visit their website: www.osuwritingcenter.okstate.edu and follow them on social media for updates on events: Twitter: @wc_okstate, Facebook: /osuwc and Instagram: @theosuwritingcenter.