The English Department is trying to make better writers at UB.
On Monday, UB opened the Center for Excellence in Writing (CEW) in Baldy Hall 209. The Center serves as a place for students to meet with 17 trained consultants for help tackling papers.
Dr. Arabella Lyon, an associate professor in the English Department and director of the CEW, believes the Center is more than just a place to get a good grade for a class.
"Our goal is to coach writers," Lyon said. "Our goal is to not make a better paper today, but a writer tomorrow."
Plans for CEW were created last March after years of preliminary work. The Center is part of President Satish Tripathi's "3 E Fund," a program designed to advance UB's international stature and student experience while embracing the "3 Es" of Tripathi's vision for UB - excellence, engagement and efficiency.
Through this fund, 16 programs' proposals were accepted, including the CEW. Over the next three years, these programs will receive close to $24 million, providing close to $2.5 million per year over time.
After a year of work, the Implementation Assessment Committee (IAC), which represents the university and is headed by Lyon, developed a mission statement and confirmed a prototype to be implemented.
The mission statement states: "Since learning to write is a life-long endeavor, all members of the UB community are also students of their own writing processes. Committed to the idea that writing both creates and communicates knowledge, understanding, and individual reflection, the CEW provides attentive, respectful readers, offers workshops on writing and writing instruction, and conducts research to guide the future development of writing practices."
The English Department offers a writing consultancy undergraduate course, in which students learn how to teach and mentor other students in a classroom or virtual setting for three credits.
Rhonda Reid, the English professor who teaches the course and the associate director of CEW, sees the class as a great opportunity for students.
"I think we've really got some amazing consultants in there," Reid said. "Because not only are they strong writers and successful students who have negotiated these writing challenges, but they also have an interest in working one on one with people."
Lyon said the consultant will have an open discussion with the student to understand what the assignment is about. The consultant then asks the student for input on the areas in which the student is not satisfied with his or her paper, which helps the consultant guide the session.
Reid said the next step is the review process, in which students read their papers aloud to fix wordy areas and correct parts that don't flow. The consultant will then draw the student's attention to the main concerns of the assignment and provide feedback.
Lyon said this process isn't meant to be an editing process; it is meant to be coaching session.
"I did learn a lot and I think it was important to take the class with people who I was going to be working with potentially," said Daniel Perlino, a junior English major who took the consulting course. "And I think that the thing I learned most in that class was that it's not an editing center. It's not, 'Come to me with your paper and I'll fix all the problems.'"
Students see how the CEW operates in the class. At its completion, they are eligible to work in the Center and earn three credits toward their English degree.
CEW is open Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Friday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
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