Our consultants can work one-on-one with your students for any writing assignment, and we have found that faculty recommendation of our services is the primary motivator for student attendance in the Writing Center.
Ways to Encourage Your Students to Attend the Writing Center
Include this blurb in your syllabus:
The MSU Writing Center offers writing feedback and support to all students on any writing assignment. Consultants are available to assist you at any stage of the writing process: from understanding writing prompts and brainstorming ideas to revising drafts and reviewing instructor feedback. For more information about this semester’s hours of operation, please see visit the Writing Center website: writingcenter.msstate.edu
Add Our Module to Your Canvas Course:
Instructions for adding the Canvas Module to your class.
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In Canvas, click on the “Commons” menu on the left side maroon banner.
***If it is your first time using the canvas commons, you’ll have to click the “authorize” button in the pop-up to allow canvas commons the ability to add modules to your course.-
In the search box type, “Writing Center Connect Module.” -
Click on the “Writing Center Connect Module.” -
On the right-side under the module’s logo, click on the “Import/Download" button. -
Select the course you’d like to add the module too and click on the “Import into Course” button after selecting the course.
Give Canvas a few minutes to import the module, and then go to your course and arrange it as you see fit. It should load at the bottom of your modules. Invite the Writing Center to your class:
We’ve found that having a representative come speak with your students not only increases the likelihood of a visit, it also makes our sessions more effective because students are more informed about what to expect. Unless otherwise noted, presentations are approximately 30 minutes long with time for Q&A at the end.
Available Presentation Topics:
- Overview of Writing Center Services (20 minutes)
- General Tips for Writing Success (best for first-year students)
- Editing & Proofreading Strategies
- Style & Citation Basics (MLA or APA)
- Tips for Technical Writing
- Navigating the Literature Review
- Writing at the Graduate Level (45 minutes)
- Engaging Source Material & Research
Custom presentation topics are available upon request. For more information, please contact Loreeda Rios (L.Rios@msstate.edu)
What we won’t do:
- Tell your students what grade they will make on an assignment
- Tell your students what to write
- Edit your students’ papers
Why we don’t edit:
As part of our mission, the Writing Center is dedicated to helping students learn. Becoming an effective writer is a long (often lifetime) process, and we engage students in their individual learning and writing processes. For this reason, we do not edit student papers. However, we can work with students to identify errors they are likely to make in their own writing and provide them strategies for correcting these errors, a process we call “self-editing.” We can also work with students to help them develop effective proofreading strategies
Recommendations if you plan to require your students to visit the Writing Center or offer extra credit incentives:
The most effective sessions are ones where students voluntarily attend. Like with most other things in life, the people who get the most from an experience are the ones most open to it. However, we do understand that some professors prefer to offer extra credit or, at times, even require students to attend a Writing Center session. In these cases, there are a few things you can do to make sure your class gets the most out of our services:
- Communicate with us at writingcenter@msstate.edu before you expect your students to begin scheduling sessions. The more information you can provide us (assignment sheets, rubrics, course syllabus, etc…) the better we can prepare to work with your students.
- Communicate expectations to your students (make time for the Writing Center to visit your classroom to explain who we are, what we do, and what is required of them to receive credit for making and attending an appointment).
- If you have a large class (over 30 students), contact us at writingcenter@msstate.edu to discuss full-class workshop and/or writing group options and possibilities.