Background

Professors worldwide have been reporting the steady decline in the writing skills of their
students recently.1 Professors expect a level of writing proficiency, however with varying high
school education, students begin college with different skills and practice with writing. Students
have learned writing habits in high school that they may need to un-learn in college. But,
professors do not have the time to go over writing skills that they expect students to already
know.2

While professors see the deficit in college students writing, students do not clearly acknowledge
it themselves. Good grades become the endgame for todays college student, with the personal
benefits of a valuable education forgotten along the way. 3 Writing is a continuous learning
process. Entering the job market after school, managers say that new grads [are] most lacking
in writing proficiency. 4

Writing centers on college campuses allow students to come in and master their writing skills.
They provide students with the coaching they need to work through writing pieces and make
sure mistakes dont continue to happen. Everyone could use coaching, even students who are
getting good grades on assignments already. We can all improve and use a second pair of eyes
to help us.

Why writing centers are important on college campuses:

-Coaches will go line by line with you through your writing.

-It is a judge free zone. You are able to work with a peer and not fear intimidation from a
professor.

-You can work on writing pieces that are not assignment related (ex. Resumes and cover
letters).

-Coaches will give you takeaways about your writing as a whole, not just one assignment.

-Coaches will explain why things are wrong, not just how to fix them.

1
Aalai, Azadeh. "Why Can't College Students Write Anymore?" Psychology Today. N.p., 21 Feb.
2014. Web. 12 Feb. 2017.
2
University, Carnegie Mellon. "Why Are Students Poorly Prepared to Write-Teaching Excellence &
Educational Innovation - Carnegie Mellon University." Why Are Students Poorly Prepared to Write-
Teaching Excellence & Educational Innovation - Carnegie Mellon University. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb.
2017.
3
Krick, Heidi. "Value of Education Forgotten, More Focus on Grades." The Blue Banner. N.p., 19
Feb. 2013. Web. 12 Feb. 2017.
4
Strauss, Karsten. "These Are The Skills Bosses Say New College Grads Do Not Have."Forbes.
Forbes Magazine, 20 May 2016. Web. 12 Feb. 2017.
-You get to work one-on-one with students who have been in your shoes.

What weve been doing this year

The Writing Central has started using HootSuite to schedule tweets each week. It has been
beneficial to post photos along with tweets. These posts tend to get more favorites and
retweets. Establishing the Twitter as a place where students are able to interact with the Writing
Central has been a good use of this social media tool. Posting things that followers are able to
respond to and get involved with brings in new followers and increases the success of the
Twitter presence. @sojcwriter uses the hashtags #writeon #writenow, #SOJCWritingCentral,
#TipTuesday and #WritingCoachWednesday.

The Writing Central created an Instagram this

year. Coaches are in charge of posting during
drop-in hour breaks. This platform allows
followers to get to know the coaches better
and see what fun things are happening at the
Writing Central. Instagram is used more
expressively for coaches while Twitter is used
more informatively.

The Writing Central blog is recently back up

and running. Coaches are in charge of
posting during down time as well. Followers
can look here to find details about Writing
Central coaches so they can choose one they
may want to make an appointment with. Or,
students can go here to find writing tips and
coachs advice. As the blog grows, coaches
can use this platform to show their creativity.
For example, cookie of the day recipes or
favorite writing spots.
Currently, the SOJC Writing Central website is under construction to include bios from students,
coaches and professors. The goal is to target students who are skeptical about the writing
center and show how it is helpful and the difference it has made for others.

Successful writing centers

Harvard Writing Center5

Harvard Universitys writing center website does a good job of providing useful information such
as hours, services and a link to schedule an appointment on its home page. It also includes
links to university and external resources that provide writing tips for citations and how to get
started on an essay. The Harvard writing centers Twitter account (@HCWritingCenter) has
1,125 followers and has a strong Twitter presence. They tweet about once every week and
ensure that they post quality content to improve engagement. They often retweet university
information, articles from major news and journalism publications and post their own hours.
Harvard Universitys writing center does a good job of posting about current events in the world
and relating it back to the programs focus. They do this by writing frequent posts on their blog
and then promoting that content on Twitter.

5
(n.d.). Retrieved February 15, 2017, from http://writingcenter.fas.harvard.edu/
George Mason University

George Mason University 6and Portland State University7 do a good job of providing writing
resources on their website that can help students when they are unable to make an in-person
appointment. Providing these sources on the website allows for students to actively improve
their writing even when a tutor is unavailable.

6
Cantwell, C. E. (n.d.). WC Quick Guides. Retrieved February 15, 2017, from
http://writingcenter.gmu.edu/writing-resources/wc-quick-guides
7
Portland State Writing Center | Welcome. (n.d.). Retrieved February 15, 2017, from
https://www.pdx.edu/writing-center/
Portland State Universitys writing center includes a frequently asked questions page and
provides answers and examples to the questions asked. This works well because students are
able to see what is expected of them on an assignment and they are able to see how these
writing rules are applied.

University of Wisconsin at Madison8

UW at Madison provides workshops for students each term to help them develop their writing
skills. These workshops focus on everything from how to begin writing an essay to citing
sources.

8
UW Madison Writing Center Workshops (by Topic). (n.d.). Retrieved February 15, 2017, from
http://www.writing.wisc.edu/Workshops/index_workshops.html
Suggestions

Writing Boot camps:

Offer free writing boot camps for students
that cover topics like citation review,
research writing, grammar errors, passive
voice workshops and MLA/APA style writing.
The University of North Texas writing center
puts on a variety of weekly boot camps that
are designed for students to brush up on
basic and more advanced skills that they
need for effective college writing. 9

Writing Study Hall

Set aside a time when students can come
into the writing center and work on a writing
piece instead of going in for a one-on-one
session. As students are working on their
writing pieces, the Writing Central would

9
"UNT Writing Lab." UNT Writing Lab. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2017.
have coaches available for any questions they might have during the writing process. The
University of Oregon Math Department holds a similar study hall in the Fenton Math Library for
students where they can do math homework while tutors are available for assistance on a
problem by problem basis.

Student Critiques
Encourage teachers within the SOJC that are assigning a paper to schedule a student critique
session with Writing Central. It is a time where students in the same class can come together at
a specified time and read each other's papers and provide feedback while getting help and
suggestions from the writing coaches.

Major Drop-In Hours

Have at least one day of the week dedicated to Journalism, Advertising and Public Relations
where students within that major are guaranteed to have a student of their same concentration
available for help. The Writing
Central should also have an online
schedule that says when each
coach is working along with their
major so that students within that
focus can get the specific help they
need.

Website

Writing Resources
Adding a Writing Resources tab to
the website would increase its
usage and make it a trustworthy
place for students to get reliable
grammar information. Various
articles about grammar topics such
as the writing process, grammar
and usage, avoiding plagiarism and
MLA format would be great
resources for students. Kansas
University has an extensive
database of writing resources for
their students to reference when
they do not have time to go into the
center.10

Social Media

10
"Welcome to the KU Writing Center." KU Writing Center | KU Writing Center. N.p., n.d. Web. 15
Feb. 2017.
Increasing Twitter Engagement
Add direct tweets to @sojcwriter to the weekly Writing Central raffle. Right now there is punch
card system being utilized at Writing Central where a filled out punch card after a certain
number of visits gets a student a raffle ticket to win a prize. In order to increase Twitter
engagement, one tweet directed at @sojcwriter will get that student one ticket in the drawing.
Directly tweeting at Writing Central from their accounts will reach entirely new audiences that
may not follow any SOJC accounts on Twitter and the raffle will serve as an incentive for
students to tweet.

Improving the Instagram Style to Increase Following

Focus on posting photos beyond the interior of Writing Center. Posting photos outside the
classroom, around campus, and even around Eugene is a great way to keep the Instagram
more exciting. These creative photos should increase the following because of their fresh take
on making writing fun and Instagram followers prefer to be surprised with unexpected content.