"What is the Writing Center?"

The Writing Center provides writers with help on all aspects of writing, from developing ideas to revising and polishing their pieces. This free service is available to students, faculty, and staff at the University of South Dakota.

"What happens in a session at the Writing Center?"

Bring your writing and any assignment instructions that your instructor may have provided. After reading through your writing and viewing the assignment together, we'll discuss your concerns. We'll spend a lot of time talking, but it's also likely that you'll do some writing. We may direct you to further resources at the end of a session. The questions our consultants ask will show you how your writing is coming across to the reader; the skills they teach you will help you to communicate your ideas more clearly and effectively.

"What if I haven't started writing yet? I'm stuck and don't know what to write!"

Even if you haven't begun writing yet, our writing consultants can help you develop a focus and a plan for your writing so that you can get started. Once you've developed a draft (even if the draft isn't done), you are welcome to come back and get additional assistance.

"Do you help with other kinds of writing?"

We assist with all kinds of writing: academic essays; homework that involves writing; MA theses and dissertations; and other kinds of writing, such as short stories, poems, résumés, reports, and business documents. We also help writers with integrating sources and avoiding plagiarism, as well as using documentation styles (APA, MLA, Chicago, and so on).

"Can you fix my grammar, spelling errors, and typos?"

Although the Writing Center doesn't proofread or edit writers' papers, we do help writers develop proofreading and editing skills. In other words, we help you learn how to identify problem areas in your writing and come up with strategies for revising and editing. Our goal is to support your long-term development as a writer, giving you new skills to use in future writing projects.