Celebration launches second Writing Center location with focus on multimedia

1:21 p.m., Oct. 21, 2015--More than 200 students, faculty and staff members came to a grand-opening celebration at the University of Delaware Multimedia Writing Center in Morris Library on Oct. 15 to see what the new, second location has to offer.

They found that the space on the lower level of the library, like the original and still operating Writing Center in Memorial Hall, offers free one-on-one and small-group tutoring to help all members of the University community develop their writing skills.

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The new center also incorporates more multimedia elements into its traditional services focused on text. Both locations offer tutoring by appointment, but the Multimedia Writing Center also has some drop-in sessions available. 

In addition, the new location may be especially convenient for students who already frequent the library and the adjacent Student Multimedia Design Center, where more technology is available for use in preparing papers, reports and other multimedia projects.

The Oct. 15 festivities included refreshments, raffles, information about Writing Center services and research, and a special appearance by mascot YoUDee.

Posters in the center highlighted such research projects as “Two Heads Are Better Than One: A Study of Collaborative Writing as a Teaching Tool at the University of Delaware” and “Understanding International Students to Improve Teaching and Tutoring Methods.” 

Another research project, “Show and Tell: Assignment Design and Student Response in Composition Classes,” found that students prefer detailed, well-explained assignments, while professors favor more open-ended assignments.

One visitor to the celebration asked, “So what happens here?” and was given a brief overview of the Writing Center’s services. They include:

• Tutors who are graduate or undergraduate students, are successful academic writers and have been trained in tutoring writing.
• Assistance with writing for any subject or at any level, from freshman English classes to doctoral level science papers.
• Help with such general issues as choosing a topic, presenting ideas clearly and identifying and correcting errors. The Writing Center does not proofread or “fix” papers but teaches strategies for students to develop their own editing skills.
• Tutoring in subjects including grammar, punctuation, style and documentation.

The Writing Center is operated by the College of Arts and Sciences. “We’re incredibly grateful to the College of Arts and Sciences Dean’s Office and the library leadership for the support that made this happen,” said Melissa Ianetta, center director and associate professor of English.

For more about Writing Center services and how to schedule an appointment, visit the website. For more about the Multimedia Writing Center, see the previous UDaily article.

Article by Ann Manser

Photos by Wenbo Fan