Page 8 - UWI QUALITY CIRCLE Vol.19 May 2017

A Place to Write and Write Better
BY JANIQUE DENNIS, PHD CANDIDATE (LCCS)
AND CO-ORDINATOR, THE WRITING CENTRE,
MODERN LANGUAGES AND LINGUISTICS, ST. AUGUSTINE CAMPUS
Skill and facility with writing has proven to be essential to student retention and success in higher education. The Writing Centre (TWC), Modern Languages and Linguistics, Faculty of Humanities and Education, St. Augustine Campus is available to all staff and students at the University and offers two optional means of accessing services. Students of every faculty and discipline, both undergraduates and postgraduates, are free to make use of our material and human resources; more so, we encourage them to do so.
The Writing Centre functions in two ways. First, TWC Lab is open for use without an appointment (video directions are available in the link provided). The computers therein have a programme that can be used to develop several English and academic writing skills from subject-verb agreement and essay construction to formatting and writing citations. Alternatively, clients can exit the offered programme and simply use the computer and internet to write, ‘whatever’. Once their use of TWC Lab is directly related to writing, clients can access the tranquillity of TWC Lab.
Second, clients can make appointments, either online through my- eLearning or, for those without access to the my-eLearning via email, to meet one-on-one with a Specialist Writing Coach. To do so, students and staff with my e-Learning access can click on The Writing Centre link in the box entitled “Useful Links” on the right in their secured areas on the my-eLearning platform. Once this is done, a scroll to the bottom of the page would reveal an option to ‘Enrol Me’. This enrolment costs nothing and in no way affects any course of study. Once selected, clients can access the options to select an appointment to have the session.
Clients are required to bring a sample of their writing to the session. This sample could be one previously submitted and marked for an assignment, but it cannot be one intended for submission, inclusive of research proposals for postgraduate study, theses or dissertations. Specialist coaches are not permitted to proofread and/or edit assignments for submission. Appointment options are only opened two weeks at a time in order to give all an opportunity to book, and they often ll up quickly. However, if someone, for whatever reason, cancels an appointment, we will notify our enrolled clients via both our Facebook and my eLearning pages, so they can take advantage of the opportunity to ‘walk in’.
The TWC provides a valuable support to our students and staff alike and if used appropriately will help them to enhance their learning experiences at The UWI.
Welcome: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dg_3MxLgFos Directions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqzbbV4wv40 Our FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/twcuwi/
Email: TheWritingCentre@sta.uwi.edu
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