The Write Way

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Watch out for these common word-use errors in your students' writing, and be sure to avoid them in your own writing as well! It is important to remember that although we are writing tutors, we are not immune to making silly mistakes. Just the other day, I learned that a rule I teach my students - effect is a noun, affect is a verb; if you affect something it means you have an effect on it - is not always true! Effect can also be a verb meaning 'to bring about or accomplish'; for example, in the phrase 'to effect change.' The more you know!

Help with what kinds of papers?

West campus writing tutor Selena says, "I have had many students come in lately and ask what kinds of writing we can help with.  I just want to say we can help with nearly ANY writing assignment your teacher assigns!  Just this week I have helped with essays of varying lengths, resumes and cover letters, sentences to be corrected from a textbook, and a memo.  I have helped with many different subjects including religion, physical and fitness, medical, and history classes.  So bring down your writing assignment (of any length or subject!) and we can help you!"

More writing gems

Meaning of Life Tuesday

Deep Thoughts from Author Toni Morrison

To write is to be human, in all its messy glory. Gonna go write some messy, glorious stuff.

You want me to what?

You Want Me to Write? About What?

So often, the most difficult step in writing a paper is the first step. Not the “turning off my music and actually picking up a pencil” step or the “I can’t think of a brilliant thesis” stage, even though these are both pretty vital. It’s the step which all of us claim to have mastered, yet none of us are actually masters of:  thinking of a topic that will not only interest you, but also knock your professor’s socks off. Coming up with a relevant first sentence – or first word, for that matter – can make you want to pull your hair out. We often crumble into a series of “umm uh umm uhs” which never get us anywhere, yet always manage to take up so much of our time. Panic and chaos often ensue. By the time the due date rolls around, all we’ve managed to come up with is a summary of the subject material, something the professor will undoubtedly not appreciate, no matter how many delightful words we’ve used.

But don’t despair! The Writing Center is here to help, whether you’re in the beginning processes or just in need of a little fine-tuning, or as we like to call it: “Vision to Revision.” One of the talented and fantastically friendly tutors can help get your brain juices flowing. So don’t be shy – we’re here for you, even if it’s just to help bounce ideas around – and don’t wait till the last minute!

Alyssa--West campus writing tutor

 

Grammar Goofs

Ever send a message or write a sentence in a paper for school that, looking back on, you realize did not say exactly what you meant? Here's a link for some grammar goofs to be aware of. Start your Monday error free!

http://www.copyblogger.com/grammar-goofs/

New Spaces, Open Minds in the Downtown Phoenix Writing Center

Moving is hard. Moving is never easy. Moving leaves a sense of missing something, desiring that old comfortable spot where you know you could go even if you had no reason to be there.

That's how it felt the first time I stepped into the new Downtown Writing Center in the Post Office on the corner of Fillmore & Central. I missed our tiny, slim hole-in-the-wall in the University Center building. I could always just drop in, even when I wasn't working, because I knew the people and the space were cozy, friendly, and inviting.

When I stepped into the stark room down in a basement, at I first was startled. It was so huge that it felt empty, despite being filled with tables, chairs, and splashes of yellow and orange furniture. How could someone feel comfortable down here, isolated from the rest of the university population? Was that why people weren't coming like they normally would? Did they not know where we were anymore?

Slowly but surely as students began to fill our appointment slots, I too began to feel more at ease working down here. The space allows more people to come, more people to collaborate, more people to just say hello and drop in to see us tutors working away to help our students be better writers. It has allowed me to be more open in my own processes; inspiration dawns on me when I sit at a table or in a cozy orange chair like it never has before.

Despite moving, I realize change is good now. It gives people new perspectives and new experiences, and now it gives me those things in my own writing. I hope that students come in to feel more inspired in our new space just like I have.   

--Downtown tutor Amanda