About the Center

Our philosophy. We aim to make better writers, not just better papers. We approach writing as a process, not a product. Our aim is to help student writers focus on the process of critical thinking, drafting, and revision that leads to clearly expressed ideas, coherent argument, and persuasive reasoning.


Our job is to facilitate—to make easier. We do this by asking questions more than by offering answers.

• We encourage writers to explore their beliefs and their understanding of their subject.
• We challenge them to engage what they know with the objectives of their assignment.
  
• We lead them to express their own ideas in ways that are appropriate for their audience.

Instead of telling writers how to answer a question, we show them effective problem-solving strategies for arriving at answers to questions.

We don’t edit or proofread students’ papers. Instead, we help writers learn correct grammar so that they can edit their own writing in the future. We show writers how to proofread and where they can find the rules for correct form. More important is our overall goal--to show students how to gain mastery of the writing process. With this approach, we hope to equip writers with skills that will make writing easier and a more effective means of expressing what they come to know about themselves and the world.