Consultants teach techniques of writing an essay with a sound thesis, thorough support, and clear organization. They will review any kind of written communication: compositions, research papers, journal articles, lab reports, resumes, and job and graduate school applications.
The Writing Lab library contains rhetoric textbooks, guides for writing research papers, grammar handbooks, grammar exercises, and pamphlets. Many of the books you may borrow; the pamphlets and exercises are free handouts.
Using one of the Lab's two Macintosh and two windows terminals, consultants can show students research techniques to ensure they find reputable electronic and print sources for their papers. All the terminals are connected to the Internet and the campus network. We also encourage students to use our computers to write and revise their papers, but we request that they first discuss their manuscript with a Lab consultant.
Distance tutoring is offered for students who cannot come to the Lab because their class meets on campus for only a few days during the semester. Since the goal of the Writing Lab is to create better writers not better individual pieces of writing, the priorities in a distance conference are the same as those in a face-to-face conference. The tutor will first address global issues (thesis, support, etc.) before moving on to grammar and style.
To best fulfill these priorities, distance tutoring is done via a phone conference. If you are interested in distance tutoring, please e-mail a request to the associate director, Dawn Hershberger (hershberger@uindy.edu), or the director, Dr. Richard Marshall, with your paper (sent as a Word attachment), a phone number, and times when you would be available to call a tutor for a 20- or 30-minute phone conference. Depending on your times available for a conference, a tutor and appointment time will be assigned to you, and you will receive a confirmation e-mail.
Please note that we need at least a 48 hour lead time in order to set up a distance tutoring conference, and also note that multiple conferences may be necessary for long (over 8 pages) papers.
Drop in anytime for help. You do not need to schedule conferences, but if you wish to avoid a wait, call ahead (788-3554) and set up an appointment. You may also sign up for conferences on your own; our appointment sheets are posted outside the Lab, so you sign up even when the Lab is closed.
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