University Writing Center Mission Statement

The University Writing Center considers writing to be an indispensable part of the intellectual life of the university as both a vital means of communication and an essential tool for learning.  We serve all members of the university community--undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, and staff--by working with them to improve their writing projects and develop their abilities to become more effective writers. We believe that learning to write is an ongoing, life-long process and that all writers, from first-year students to faculty, benefit from discussing and collaborating on their work with thoughtful and respectful readers.

At the Writing Center we provide one-on-one consultations, writing resources, in-class workshops, and a comfortable place to write. Writing Center consultants can work with any piece of writing, whether for a specific course or for professional or personal development. We also welcome collaborative projects as well as multimedia projects. We are also a site for research on Writing Center theory and practice and are committed to being part of ongoing scholarly conversations about the teaching of writing.

Our philosophy of teaching writing begins with conceiving of writing as a process. We believe that the best writing develops through a process of invention, drafting, and revision - though the process is not always linear and direct. At all stages of the process, we believe that writers benefit from the kind of thoughtful response we offer at the Writing Center. In our consultations we engage in a dialogue with writers to help them develop their writing, and to become more effective and confident writers. We are not a drop-off editing service. Instead we want to ask the questions and offer the suggestions that will help writers understand how to make their own work stronger.

The Writing Center is dedicated to being a safe, inclusive environment. We work to make the Writing Center a welcoming place where writers feel comfortable bringing the diverse range of perspectives found in the university community. We are also committed to accommodating all writers and all learning styles. We do not grade or evaluate the writing we see, and we do not communicate what happens in a consultation to students’ instructors without the permission of the student.