Writing Center Helps Students Develop Their Prose

Staff Writer: Makinna Wolf

Writing can be a real challenge for students as they make their way through college,
whether they’re putting together a term paper or a simple homework assignment in English 101. The Writing Center at Wingate and its staff of eight student consultants can help all comers with these challenges in many ways. Leading this team of writing coaches is Dr. Dustin Morris, the center’s full-time director.

The consultants help students with a variety of all things writing-related: brainstorming ideas, helping with grammar, clarifying assignments, organizing papers and using proper formatting on citations. Students can come to the Writing Center with a rough draft for suggestions or a final draft for proofreading. When it comes to the always-challenging inclusion of citations, all of the consultants are experienced in using APA or MLA style.

Some students end up coming back to the Writing Center many times during their time at Wingate.

The consultants are all upperclassmen who have experience with writing papers for
different classes. All of the consultants have successfully completed English 110 at Wingate and know what it takes to put together a good college paper.

When students are hired, most stay throughout their time at Wingate, so there’s
continuity among the staff.

“I believe [working at] the Writing Center is a good experience for those pursuing
English or other fields that require you to be good at writing,” said Ariel Cornelius, a sophomore writing consultant. “It broadens your perspective on different subjects and while you help other students you might end up learning something that will benefit you in the future.”

The student consultants come from a variety of backgrounds and majors, including
English, communication, psychology and sociology. Not all of them want to be writers after they graduate, but all enjoy helping people.

“Writing is something that I really enjoy, and it comes naturally to me,” said Kylie Smith, a sophomore consultant. “So the fact that I get to help others who struggle with writing is very uplifting and has become something I look forward to.”

The Writing Center is located on the second floor in the ARC at the Ethel K. Smith
Library. If students have questions, they can email Dr. Morris and any of the student consultants at writingcenter@wingate.edu.