As I head into my first-ever college final season, there’s no other campus resource that I can be more thankful for than the Writing Center. They’ve been super helpful for developing ideas for my writing, looking over my paper’s structure and focus, and proofreading for small mistakes. At the time of writing, I’ve visited the Writing Center about a dozen times already, and I’ll probably meet with them a dozen more times by this semester’s end!
So, how do you set up a Writing Center appointment? Easy: Penji. Penji is Amherst’s go-to app for setting up appointments with all kinds of campus resources: Global Education Office (study abroad), Moss Quantitative Center (math help), Office of Fellowships, Peer Tutoring, the Strategic Learning Center, and the Writing Center. Booking an appointment with the Writing Center is as easy as selecting the course, picking a time, and choosing between a few amazing Writing Center associates to work with on your paper. There are several sorting and filtering options to help you get the best feedback possible, since some associates are specialized to a particular field. You can never go wrong with any associate though, so I definitely recommend trying them all out and seeing what works for you!
When it comes time for your appointment, all you have to do is show up to the Writing Center and fill out a clipboard that helps the associate get to know you and your paper. While my goals for each session are different, I have a couple go-to options: the most direct feedback, more emphasis on the associate leading, and a private or semi-enclosed room.
Once you’re with your associate, everything is up to what the assignment is and where you are in the writing process. I like to have at least a semi-draft finished by the time I meet with the Writing Center so they have more to work with, but it’s all up to you! The Writing Center is an amazing resource to guide you through the writing process no matter how much you have completed, and they definitely encourage you to meet with them no matter what.
The Writing Center also provides public speaking consultations if you need to prepare for a presentation, speech, or anything that requires talking in front of an audience. When I had a final project proposal presentation for my First-Year Seminar a few days ago, the Writing Center (shout out to Susan Daniels!) helped me plan out content and how to present it to an audience.
If I had to pick out a single most valuable campus resource I’ve found at Amherst so far, it would definitely be the Writing Center. If you’re already on-campus or still deciding whether to apply to Amherst (application is due next month!), I would definitely look into the Writing Center!
Until next time,
Tony