Writing Center Staff Picks: Resources for New Students

While I was attending the Phoenix residency last week, a student asked me to tell him the most common question the Writing Center receives from students. I paused, thought a moment, and realized that there isn’t a most common question we get because students’ questions and needs are often so varied and specific.

However, what I did tell the student was that I consistently point students to specific services. (My favorite is our e-mail address; send an e-mail to writingsupport@waldenu.edu, and like magic, we’ll respond within 24 hours!)

And, after surveying other Writing Center staff, I discovered that we all have similar resources we refer students to time after time, particularly new students. These resources represent the best bang for your buck: If you use our website and webinars, you’ll have the most information possible at your fingertips.

So, in the tradition of your local bookstore’s Staff Picks section, here are the inaugural staff picks for Writing Center services all new students should use:

Writing Center Website

The Writing Center’s website was the most common resource staff reported recommending to students (over 50%!). As one staff member put it, “the website seems to be the hub of the Writing Center” and “offers the best orientation to Writing Center resources.”

The website is ideal for students new to the Writing Center because “it also allows for a low-pressure way to poke around the resources without the potential embarrassment of asking a ‘stupid’ question or zeroing in too quickly on one type of resource.”         

 

The website is also massive; as one staff member put it: “For breadth and depth … the website has more to offer than any other single resource.”        

When asked about specific pages of the website, staff recommended

• the Getting Started page: This page “describes all of our services,” giving students a sense of where to go first depending on their comfort level.
• the Writing Process page: Use this page to “start the writing/review iterative process as soon as possible!”
• the References and Templates pages.
• the APA Style tab: “I see the most mistakes with APA and formatting, so this resource tackles both.”

Webinars

With both live and recorded webinars available, staff feel that since “we have such a big library,” students can find many webinars to fit their needs. A webinar is also helpful because it “provides a human voice to the Writing Center.”

As one staff member put it: “I really do think that students get the most out of these.  Plus, students can download the slides or rewatch the entire webinar again, with commentary, for more help.”

What specific webinars should you check out? Take a look:

• “Welcome to the Writing Center”: “This webinar is a good overview in a neat lil package.”
• Capstone webinars: Another staff member said these “would be the most relevant” for doctoral students beginning to write their capstone and are useful for “Walden-specific advice and help.”

What Writing Center services have you used? What would be your top pick? Let us know in the comments below!

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In her work in the Writing Center, Beth Oyler is “constantly fascinated by the research Walden's students are completing and where their interests are.” She learns from each paper she reviews.