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Contact Information:

University Writing Center
414 E. Clark St.
Dakota Hall 226
Vermillion, SD 57069
phone: 605-677-5626
wcenter@usd.edu

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Last Modified: 05/28/08

Welcome to the University Writing Center

Summer 2008 Writing Center Availability
Hours: Monday through Thursday, 12:00-2:00 pm (June 2 through July 31)
Location: I.D. Weeks Library's Reference Area, First Floor
Schedule: Visit http://www.usd.edu/wcenter/owc_schedule.cfm to view consultant availability.

To schedule an appointment this summer, e-mail wcenter@usd.edu or drop by the Writing Center table in the reference area of I.D. Weeks Library during our hours. You may try calling 677-5626 on weekdays between 10:00 and 2:00, but e-mail will work better.

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Our Mission
The University Writing Center's mission is simply to make better writers. The UWC staff seeks to help make positive changes to students' and faculty's/staff's writing practices. Those who seek our assistance may leave a Writing Center session with a better draft but the primary goal of the UWC is for students and faculty/staff to become better writers overall.

The USD Writing Center assists student writers enrolled in courses at the University of South Dakota in developing their individual writing skills as well as any faculty/staff who would like a second set of eyes on a piece of writing. Any USD student, faculty, or staff may come to the UWC for individualized writing instruction for any writing, whether academic, personal, creative, business, undergraduate- or graduate-level.

What the Writing Center does
Writing consultants work with writers to help them with any part of the writing process, including prewriting, organizing, developing paragraphs, revising, or reviewing sentence structure and areas of grammatical weakness. Consultants will provide explanatory sheets and perhaps necessary exercises on specific areas of writing. Consultants can assist writers in the correct documentation of their writing, whether MLA or APA. The UWC also offers individualized and group listening and speaking sessions for students, faculty, or staff who are non-native speakers of English and (for students) are enrolled in English writing or language courses.

What the Writing Center Does Not Do
The writing center does not offer "drop-off" proofreading and editing for students or faculty/staff. While writers can work with consultants in planning, revising, and editing an essay, the writing center does not replace the activities of the classroom.

Scheduling an Appointment
During summer 2008, you should e-mail the Writing Center (wcenter@usd.edu) to schedule an appointment. You can also just drop in; a consultant may be available to work with you if no one is already scheduled for that time. A typical appointment is either 30 minutes or an hour (when scheduling an appointment, indicate which you prefer).

The Writing Center Process
Writers should schedule appointments at least two or three days before a writing assignment is due. This may allow the consultant to suggest that another session would be helpful before the writing task is completed. Also, writers should bring a copy of the writing assignment when available so that the consultant can understand the requirements for a particular piece of writing.

Finally, writers should be prepared to talk about their writing. As difficult as it may seem, writers should identify the weaknesses in particular parts of the text; the consultant can't just guess that a writer needs help with pronouns, sentence structure, or subject-verb agreement. The most effective sessions are those in which both the writer and the consultant are involved.

Hours of Operation (Summer 2008):
Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays 12:30-2:00 pm in I.D. Weeks Library's reference area, first floor.

Online Writing Center is closed until September.