Welcome to the CAS Writing Center!

This video serves as an introduction to Boston University's College of Arts and Sciences Writing Center.




TRANSCRIPT

NARRATOR:

Welcome to the CAS Writing Center!
This on-campus resource offers free, one-on-one appointments to students working on assignments for CAS Writing Program courses and their equivalents. Appointments are forty-five minutes long, and students can make one appointment per week. 

Writing Center consultants are friendly undergraduate and graduate students from many different majors and colleges across BU, along with ESL specialists. They are happy to meet with all students and help them improve, regardless of their confidence in their writing skills. 

MEHAR:

So my experience in the Writing Center has been so great, so far. I get to meet new students every week and we get to talk about their different assignments. They all have different backgrounds. It’s just great to have those 45 minutes to connect with them and to connect with their essays.

NARRATOR:

Consultants can assist students at any stage in the writing process and can help with a variety of concerns, from brainstorming paper ideas to clarifying a paper’s organization. They are familiar with the CAS writing program curriculum and can tailor their advice to help students in specific courses, including the many new courses offered as part of the BU Hub.

ESL students are especially encouraged to visit the Writing Center. All writing consultants are trained to help ESL students with issues specific to multilingual writing. 

Writing consultants do not fix grammar errors for students, but they will teach editing and proofreading strategies so that students can make corrections on their own. 

ROB:

We can’t just sit here and edit, but it’s more on you to, you know, recognize it yourself and then ask questions about how you can go about fixing it. It’s more of like a guidance and helping them grow as their own writer to, you know, create their own process, which is what I fully believe in and that’s why I really like the way we do writing consultations.

NARRATOR:

To schedule an appointment, students can go to the Writing Center website and register for a free account using their BU email address. Once they are registered, they can log into their account, view the Writing Center’s online schedule, and select an open time slot that works for them. Then, they can fill out the form with information about the writing assignment they’d like to work on. When making an appointment, students 

should be sure to sign up with a consultant who is listed to work with students at their course level. 

The main location of the CAS Writing Center is on the third floor of the Yawkey Center for Student Services, located at 100 Bay State Road. There is also a satellite location on the first floor of Mugar Library, located at 771 Commonwealth Avenue, in Alcove 2 near the reference desk. The appointment form and confirmation email will specify which location a student should go to. 

SHARMAINE:

One question to ask is just how happy are you with your paper and do you think that you can make it better in the time that you have left? Because if those answers are that, yes – you feel like your paper can be made better in the time that you have left, then the writing center is for you.

NARRATOR:

Students should bring their paper draft and a copy of their assignment sheet to their appointment, as well as any relevant class readings or notes. They should be prepared to be active participants during their appointment and work with the consultant to make their paper the best that it can be. 

Students may also work with consultants on academic papers from other CAS courses, but only on a walk-in basis. The CAS Writing Center does not offer assistance for writing assignments from non-CAS courses, for graduate-level writing, or for career- related, technical, or professional writing. For assistance with these forms of writing, students can use the Educational Resource Center, the COM Writing Center, or the Center for Career Development. 

Everyone at the CAS Writing Center is excited to help students become the strongest writers that they can be. With individualized attention, students can sharpen their argumentative skills, develop their creativity, and build overall confidence in their writing abilities. 

For more information, visit the Writing Center website, call the front desk, or stop by and say hi!