Writing Lab
Writing Lab
Math and Writing Academic Center
SSB 222
Phone: 314.516.6863
David Linzee, Writing Lab Supervisor, linzeed@umsl.edu
Suellynn Duffey, Writing Program Administrator, duffeys@umsl.edu
This is the information provided to students who visit the Writing Lab.
About the Writing Lab
The Writing Lab is every writer’s campus resource for face-to-face as well as online tutoring. It can help students become better writers and develop confidence in their writing. It can make excellent writers even better. In its new, larger, wired and more conveniently located space, SSB 222, it will easily facilitate collaborative learning projects and other kinds of group work. The Lab is free to all UMSL students and especially helpful to international students, where an ESL (English as a Second Language) specialist is on staff. Lab services are available online through MyGateway.
The consultants are friendly graduate students in English. They help students understand the assignment, generate ideas, focus thesis statements, integrate sources, and re-organize drafts, among other tasks. They also show students how to identify and correct their own grammatical errors. (Students need to understand, however, that the Lab does not serve as a drop-off proofreading service.) Students may come in at any stage of the writing process; they will get the best results if they come in early—both in the writing of a paper and in the semester.
To work with a consultant, students are advised to make an appointment online at http://umsl.mywconline.com. The consultants see walk-ins without appointments as time permits. At the same site, http://umsl.mywconline.com, students can submit papers as electronic files, which consultants will read and make marginal comments on, and return via email. The Lab will soon begin to offer interactive tutoring on its Second Life website. In addition, the Lab page includes advice on topics from punctuation to Writing across the Curriculum, as well as information on schedule, policies, and staff. Finally, the Lab has a course site on My Gateway, where students can submit their papers to Turnitin.com.
Consultants visit classes at the instructor’s request, to introduce the Lab or talk about such topics as citing sources. Some instructors choose to encourage their classes, or individual students, to use Lab services by offering extra credit, or simply requiring a visit. The supervisor, David Linzee, will be happy to work with instructors on these or other matters. His extension is -6863 and his email is linzeed@umsl.edu.
The Lab joins with the ESL department to present workshops on grammar, punctuation, and writing research papers. Other small-group programs are being developed to take advantage of technology in the new facility.When should students come to the Lab?
At any time in the writing process:
- when you’re thinking over an assignment, even before you have written a draft
- when you’ve got an outline, a brainstormed list of ideas, or a rough draft
- when you’re ready to polish the nearly finished draft.
Since it’s important to rework and revise your writing after you visit the Lab, it’s best not to come within a few hours or minutes of an assignment’s due date.
Start early in the semester (when you’re not pressured) and return often. Make the Lab your regular stop for writing assistance.
For a Writing Lab visit, expect to
- Take your writing assignment and any materials related to it
- Talk to a consultant about your project, your thoughts, your worries. Even if you’ve not written a draft, you can discuss getting started, gathering information, or focusing your topic
- Talk about your draft: organizing your ideas, making good sentences and paragraphs, or editing for correct words, grammar, and punctuation
- Spend half an hour or more with a consultant
- Take something to write with and write on, so you can keep notes of your discussion
- Revise your writing after you leave the Lab
Who uses the lab?
The Writing Lab is every writer’s campus resource for face-to-face as well as online tutoring. It can help you become a better writer and develop confidence in your writing. It can make excellent writers even better. Many international students visit the lab, where an ESL (English as a Second Language) specialist is on staff. Lab services are available online through MyGateway.
Faculty may refer students to the Lab (see the referral form at the website). Faculty may also schedule a class visit so that a consultant can inform students in person about the Lab and its services. Contact David Linzee to arrange a visit.