Writing Center

The Watkins Writing Center assists students in research techniques, library use, and all aspects of writing for school assignments and professional development.  Be advised that we won’t do your papers for you, but we’ll definitely help you with the process.

The Writing Center’s spring 2010 hours are:

TUESDAYS, 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.

THURSDAYS, 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Walk-ins are accepted, but an appointment is highly recommended. To schedule one, or to reschedule or cancel a session (please allow 12 hours advance notice): Email the Writing Center staff at writingcenter@watkins.edu, or call 277-7427.

Please call if you are running late to your session. 

What to Expect in your sessioN 

Sessions are held in the library and are generally 30 to 50 minutes in length. Schedule an appointment well in advance of your assingnment’s due date because you may need more than one session to polish your work. To get the most out of your session, bring two copies of your draft as well as your assignment requirements.

Your appointment will start with an assessment of your needs, and you and your tutor will set the agenda for your session. Your tutor will review your paper and you will actively participate in diagnosing the problems and fixing them. You may be prompted to write, edit, brainstorm, research, or practice your writing.

Our goal is not just to fix the paper at hand but to help you with the craft of writing.

WRITING CENTER ONLINE RESOURCES

Visit the Handouts page for a bevy of printable, informative guides covering every aspect of writing and research. 

Visit the Helpful Links page to browse the resources of other university writing centers, such as this handout offering advice on writing about art history from the Writing Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  

Writing a research paper? There are some nifty online tools you should know about:

EasyBib will create MLA citations & Works Cited entries for you for free. Just enter your source type (e.g. magazine article, painting, etc.) into the search box, or choose from the menu of source types, and then enter the requested info for your specific source. EasyBib does the rest. The premium version, MyBib Pro, offers citation assistance for APA- and Chicago/Turabian-styled citations as well for a small fee.

NoodleBib Express is another free way to generate MLA, APA, and Chicago citations that you can cut and paste into your bibliography. The full version of NoodleBib goes several steps further, guiding you through the research process and assisting you with note-taking.