Take a moment to reflect on last semester and think if there was room for improvement. Most likely everybody could have performed better by simply staying in one week night or spend an additional half-hour on school work. Luckily, each new semester brings new opportunity for all students to become more involved, improve academically and take advantage of the many resources Ball State has to offer. One of the best kept secrets regarding academic aids on campus is the Ball State Writing Center.
Writing is a critical skill for people to practice as it inevitably relates to success later in life. According to Writing and School Reform, "The bottom-line problem and opportunity remain the same: The correlation between career success and writing proficiency is extremely strong. Government and private sector employers alike have told us that those who can write well will advance in the workplace and those who cannot write well will struggle to be promoted or even retained."
In all reality, everybody has room to improve their writing ability through supplementary instruction. The Writing Center provides students with an opportunity to receive 50-minute one-on-one tutoring sessions through scheduled or walk-in appointments. The goal of the Writing Center is not to simply edit or proofread a student's paper, but rather to help students become better writers. The goal of every student at Ball State should be to gain the intellectual knowledge and real-world skills to achieve professional success. Ultimately, writing is a fundamental communication tool that is characteristic of well-rounded and highly respected professionals from all disciplines.
Unfortunately there is a negative stigma that surrounds places that offer additional help. Those reluctant to pursue tutoring are afraid that they will be labeled stupid or incompetent by their peers. However, this simply is not true. In fact, the Writing Center has the ability to help freshmen students taking their first college English course to create a working thesis statement while also having the capacity to give critical and useful feedback to Ph.D. students. Ultimately, the more feedback one receives on any piece of writing results in a stronger and higher caliber piece of writing.
The Writing Center is conveniently located on campus in two locations for students to use. The central location of the Writing Center is located on the second floor of Robert Bell while also offering late night hours at Bracken Library twice a week. Additionally, tutors can be reached through a simple phone call, IM or e-mail for quick grammar or word choice questions. Obviously, there are plenty of opportunities for students to receive feedback from the Writing Center tutors.
Clearly, students looking to improve their writing ability and performance in the classroom should seek the help of the Writing Center. The best part of the Ball State Writing Center is that it's free since the services are already built into the fees charged to students each semester. In the end, students might as well get the most bang for their buck by taking advantage of this great resource.
According to statistics recorded by students who visited the Writing Center, over 95 percent would recommend the Writing Center to a friend. The underlying theme is that the services offered by the Writing Center help students succeed in the classroom. The free writing feedback is intended to help any student improve the quality of any project or class. The real question becomes why wouldn't a student look into the Writing Center for additional help?
Write to Travis at tjoneill@bsu.edu
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