The Mississippi State University Writing Center will open for the new semester Aug. 24, and hours for the fall are posted at www.writingcenter.msstate.edu. The center offers 30- and 60-minute consultations as well as walk-in appointments, free of charge, to all MSU writers. 

 

The Writing Center is staffed by a network of writing consultants that includes undergraduate and graduate students trained in writing center theory, practice, and research as well as faculty. They are prepared to work with writers on a variety of genres, including creative pieces and assignments for class as well as professional documents and materials, like resumes, cover letters, scholarship essays and CVs. 

 

They are also prepared to work with writers during any stage of their writing processes -- to brainstorm, develop, revise, and edit. They spend the most time working with writers to develop and support ideas in response to particular rhetorical situations, like a class assignment or a job advertisement, to summarize and synthesize research findings, to discover and better understand the conventions of writing within their disciplines or fields, including understanding style guides, and to address audiences appropriately. 

 

It is a good idea to think of the center as a place to work on writing, rather than as a finishing service. Writers should plan to spend time drafting and revising after a Writing Center visit. 

 

The center does not edit writing. However, writers can work with a tutor to become better self-editors -- writers who are aware of the kinds of mistakes they often make in their writing, how those mistakes impact readers, how to identify those mistakes, and different options for revision. 

 

Writers can register and sign up for an appointment online at msstate.mywconline.com.