The Finals Schedule has been posted!

Well, it's that time, folks! The WKU Writing Center finals schedule has been, well, finalized.

Please keep in mind that our hours will be strictly limited to Cherry Hall 123. Our Cravens location will be closed for the entirety of finals week. 

So, sharpen those pencils or charge up that laptop and get to writing! If you know that you intend to utilize the Writing Center during finals week, we strongly encourage you to go ahead and schedule your appointment now. Right this second. (I'm waiting.) 

The reason for this emphatic urging to schedule appointments rests in the fact that we will have extremely limited drop-in availability. If you do not schedule an appointment, we cannot 100% guarantee that you will be able to meet with a tutor--and that's disappointing for everyone. 

There are still a number of spots remaining, but they're filling quickly. To schedule your appointment, log in to TutorTrac and select the time that works best for you. If you're unfamiliar with TutorTrac, check out this tutorial on how to work the software. Alternatively, you can also shoot us an email at writingcenter@wku.edu or give us a call at (270) 745-5719.

We look forward to meeting with you! 

Happy Writing! 

Scheduling Appointments: The How-To Edition

by Abby Ponder 

We’re beginning to get into crunch time, and so now, more than ever, we strongly encourage students to schedule their appointments with the Writing Center in advance.

If you’re struggling with scheduling your appointment online, follow this step-by-step guide to scheduling success!

Step One: Visit our website at www.wku.edu/writingcenter.

Step Two: Once on our website, scroll down until you see the option to “Schedule an Appointment.”

Step Three: Once you have clicked on the “Appointment Scheduler” link, you will be taken to the login page for TutorTrac. On this screen, you’ll enter your WKU NetID (not your 800#) and password.

Step Four: Once you’re logged in, move your mouse to hover over the “Go To…” tab. From there, you’ll click “Make Appointment.”

Step Five: Once you’ve clicked on “Make Appointment,” you’ll be taken to a screen where it will ask you to request a Center on the right side of the page. You might have to scroll down a little bit to see the Writing Center option. Once you see it, click on it and then hit “search.” (Don’t worry about looking at the options to select tutors and dates that are located on the lefthand side of the screen.)

Step Six: Once you have hit “Search,” scroll down to the bottom of the page. You will see all the names of the tutors, as well as the times they have appointments available. If you are able to click on a time slot—success! You’re well on your way! If the time you would like is not a clickable link, then that time is not available for appointment. 

Step Seven: After you have clicked on a time, you'll be taken to a screen where you schedule your appointment, and then you’re all set! You should immediately get an email confirmation from us that your appointment was scheduled.

Step Eight: Show up for your appointment! The day before your scheduled time, you should get a reminder email that your appointment is approaching. Students should bring with them a draft (or any work they have completed thus far) and, if they have it, a copy of the prompt. 

If you have any additional concerns about scheduling an appointment, we also have a handy dandy tutorial video to help guide you through the process. 

If you have any additional questions, you can email us at writingcenter@wku.edu or give us a call at (270) 745-5719. 

We look forward to seeing you at your (newly scheduled) Writing Center appointment! 

Happy Writing! 

11/6 Update: Adjusting Hours

Happy Thursday, folks! We hope you've been having an excellent week thus far! It's Homecoming and almost Thanksgiving Break. Life is good. 

In between all your Homecoming festivities and class assignments, we do have a couple of announcements we would like to share with you: 

Starting next week, we will be offering more appointment times in our Cravens location. On Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, students will be able to schedule appointments at times between 4-7:30 (compared to the previous option of only 4-5). After 7:30, drop-in appointments will begin and continue until 9:00pm. 

Another new development is the fact that there will no longer be an option to schedule hour long appointments. All sessions will remain at the standard thirty minute length. 

Thank you all! Have a great rest of the week!

See, this dog heard about all these exciting things, and he just couldn't contain his excitement! We feel the same.
(Photo courtesy of http://goo.gl/OK4rhE)

The WKU Writing Center and the Commons at Cravens

by Abby Ponder 

You've already scheduled your appointment, and so you begin making your way towards Cherry Hall 123 with your paper in hand. You're ready to go! When you get to the top of the hill, though, you realize that the door is shut and no one is home. So, what do you do now? You thought you were supposed to have an appointment? 

Well, you're right--you do have an appointment. But if that appointment is scheduled at a time after 4pm, there's a very good chance that you are in the wrong location. 

A few semesters ago, the WKU Writing Center introduced an additional location that is found at the reference desk in the Commons at Cravens. While the Writing Center in Cherry Hall 123 does close for the day at 4pm, the Cravens location opens its metaphorical doors right at 4:00 and remains in business until 9pm. Cravens allows students to continue to seek guidance on their papers at later hours, and at a location that is central to campus for students who may not be able to get up to Cherry Hall during the day. 

Consequently, students scheduling appointments should always be mindful to double check where the appointment will be meeting to avoid confusion and missed appointments. (When in doubt, check your confirmation email!) 

So, here you are, ready for your appointment. You're in Cherry Hall and it's already 4:10; there's no way you can make it down to Cravens, you may think. If you're worried about missing an appointment, send us an email at writingcenter@wku.edu and we'll work to address the problem. And remember, scheduling an appointment is easy to do. Just go to wku.edu/writingcenter and click "appointment scheduler." From there you'll be prompted to log in (using your WKU NetID and password) and then schedule an appointment at your convenience.

We hope to see you soon! 

Welcome back! Now let's get started.

Welcome back to the hill, folks! New semesters always bring a lot of new things: there are new people, new living arrangements, new classes, and, inevitably, new papers. Today marks the beginning of Week Four, and the newness of the semester is gradually beginning to evolve into something resembling a routine. And those papers that initially seemed so far away? Their due dates are starting to creep a little closer.

So, what do you do now?

Well, starting to write is typically a step in the right direction, and the Writing Center is here to help. Our writing tutors work with students at any stage in the writing process, to help boost your confidence in that final product.

Scheduling an appointment with the WKU Writing Center is easy to do: First, visit our website and click “Appointment Scheduler." You’ll then be prompted to either log in or create account if it is your first visit. From there, you’ll select a time and date, and then you’re all set! Simple as that. Alternatively, you can also give us a call at (270) 745-5719 or email us at writingcenter@wku.edu if you’d like to schedule an appointment or have any additional questions.

For the fall of 2014, our hours are as follows:

Cherry Hall

Monday - Thursday: 9am - 4pm

Friday: 9am - 1pm

Cravens

Monday - Tuesday: 4pm - 9pm

Wednesday: 4pm - 6:30pm

Thursday: 4pm - 9pm

Friday: CLOSED

The Writing Center at WKU is more than happy to assist you at any stage in the writing process, so schedule an appointment and come see us!

--Abby 

SPRING 2014 FINALS HOURS

Below are our hours for finals week. Get your appointments in early because we are already filling up!

Cherry Hall

• Monday - Wednesday:     10am - 4pm
• Thursday:                         10am - 1pm
• Friday:                              CLOSED

Cravens Library

• Monday:                           CLOSED
• Tuesday:                           4pm - 8pm 
• Wednesday:                      5pm - 9pm
• Thursday:                         3pm - 5pm
• Friday:                              CLOSED

Best of luck on finals, and have a great summer!

--Sarah

Gearing Up for Finals

As we get closer to the end of the semester and the dreaded finals week, our tutors in the Writing Center start getting busier and busier with the onslaught of students who come to us requesting help for final papers and projects, not to mention trying to work on and polish their own final assignments. Every semester it happens without fail: students come in to the Writing Center without scheduling an appointment, and they want help in these hectic last few weeks, but unfortunately, they have to wait anywhere from thirty minutes to two hours because all our appointments have been scheduled and there is a line for drop-ins.

Maybe they have been coming in all semester during drop-in hours and have not had to wait at all because we generally aren't too busy between midterms and finals. Maybe they have never been to the Writing Center and do not know how the system works. Either way, we end up having to turn away students because we are just too full or because they don't have the time to wait for us.

The best way you can prevent this is by scheduling an appointment, preferably a few days in advance. By scheduling, you can guarantee that you will be seen by a tutor and get the help you need. Of course, we will always do our best to accomodate drop-ins, but if another drop-in arrives before you do, then you will have to wait, and we oftentimes only have one tutor accepting drop-ins at a time.

So, do the best thing for yourself and for your paper: schedule appointments with tutors in advance, and especially a day or two before your due date.

Best of luck with all final assignments!

--Sarah

Scheduling Appointments Online

Recently, we have noticed that students may be having problems when scheduling their appointments using our online scheduler, TutorTrac. Some students have scheduled with The Learning Center by accident, which has caused a lot of confusion for both TLC and the Writing Center. I've outlined some of the key steps below to help prevent future confusion.

Step 1: Visit our website and click "How to Make an Appointment."

Step 2: Watch our video tutorial that outlines how to use TutorTrac.

Step 3: After watching the tutorial, go back to the website and click "Make an Appointment."

Step 4: Enter your Net ID and Password into TutorTrac.

Step 5: Click the drop-down menu at the top that says, "Go To..." and click "Make Appointment."

Step 6: Fill out the details of your desired appointment. Make sure to click "The_Writing_Center" on the drop-down menu titled "Select a Center."

Step 7: Once you have filled out the designated spaces, click "Search" and choose a time and a tutor that works best for you.

Congratulations, you have successfully schedule an appointment using TutorTrac! You may want to call us at (270-745-5719) to confirm your appointment, but otherwise, it is up to you to remember the time and date of your appointment.

I hope this step-by-step process for scheduling an appointment is helpful! Please leave any questions in the comments.

Happy Friday, everyone!

--Sarah

We're Back!

The WKU Writing Center is now open and fully operational! Come by Cherry Hall 123 or Cravens Library to see us and get some help on your latest assignment. Here is a list of our operating hours for Fall 2013:

Cherry Hall 123

Monday - Thursday     9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Friday                           9 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Cravens Library (on the fourth floor in the Commons)
Monday                      4 p.m. - 8 p.m.
Tuesday                      4 p.m. - 8 p.m.
Wednesday                 4 p.m. - 8 p.m.
Thursday                    4 p.m. - 8 p.m.

 If you don't live in Bowling Green or can't get to our locations when we're open, we schedule online appointments through email. One of our tutors will read the paper you send us and create a video for you, outlining how to improve your writing. Please note: our tutors will not proofread your entire paper, but will instead try to educate you on how to better your paper and your writing. Also note: we require at least 72 hours to get your paper back to you, so make sure and send it in well before the due date!

To submit a paper for an online appointment, visit our website: www.wku.edu/writingcenter. To make an appointment with one of our tutors, you can do so from our website, by calling (270) 745-5719, or by coming in to on of our locations and scheduling a time to come in. We do accept drop-ins, but our scheduled appointments take priority, so try to schedule your appointment well in advance!

We also have a new Glasgow location for students who live in or near Glasgow. For more information, you can call (270) 659-6900 or visit www.wku.edu/glasgow/writingcenter.php.

Make sure to like us on our new Facebook page for updates about our hours, special events, and more!

--Sarah

Video: How To Make an Appointment at the WKU Writing Center

What is The WKU WRITING CENTER?

WKU Writing Center, Fall 2011

The Writing Center offers individual conferences about writing with our staff of English graduate students. Our services are available to all Western Kentucky University students free of charge.  We can help writers who need feedback to help refine their writing.  Located physically in Cherry Hall Room 123, we are also available through email at writingcenter@wku.edu and online at www.wku.edu/writingcenter.

Our tutors will talk with you about your writing to help you: brainstorm ideas, clarify main points, strengthen logic and support, integrate and credit sources, smooth out organization, and fine-tune sentence style.  Because we want to help you become a better writer, we won't edit or proofread your paper for you. Instead, we will help you to learn to revise and edit so you will be able to catch your own errors and improve your content, organization, and style.

So, what is this WKU Writing Center Blog?  It's a place for students to find tips and tricks about writing--from great how-to-guides on MLA style to grammar and punctuation.  Also, it is a place that will answer the questions that occur most frequently in the Writing Center.  Check back often for news about the WKU English Department!