Writing Center

VU Services > Writing Center

Welcome to the Writing Center!

The Writing Center exists to serve Vanguard University’s student writers across the curriculum on the undergraduate and graduate levels by providing informed reading and feedback as well as instruction for specific writing weaknesses. Committed to integrating faith and learning in a culturally diverse, Christ-centered collaborative environment, the Writing Center endeavors to assist students with improving their writing skills in concert with their critical command of content and rhetorical structure.

Writing Center consultants work with Vanguard students one-on-one at any stage in the writing process. Students should bring in writing projects they’re creating, such as expository essays and researched writing. We help students organize notes, develop outlines, revise thesis statements, and work on various aspects of atomistic and holistic revision.  Please click here for the Writing Center SLOs (Student Learning Outcomes.)

*New*  Welcome Video!

Watch our 3-minute cartoon video welcoming Vanguard students to the Writing Center!

Please note:  21st Century writing centers are not proofreading or editing services.  Using a hybrid balance of technology and face-to-face time, we empower writers who’d like to develop strengths in process-oriented revision.  Guiding students through thoughtful revision supports long-term improvements in writing strategies and critical thinking skills. 
 
With regard to “grammar issues,” for instance, we may point out flawed sentence patterns and provide relevant information so students may revise their own projects.  We do not  write papers for students, and we do not “correct.”  Verbs we like to use:  develop, originate, analyze, explore, brainstorm, focus, strengthen, propose, assert, prove, contend, synthesize, draft, expand, and revise, revise, revise.

Our Location

The Writing Center is located in Heath 214, on the 2nd Floor of Heath Academic Center.

Hours

Mondays through Thursdays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Fridays, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Closed during Chapel Hours on Monday, Tuesday, & Wednesday.
Closed during University Holidays, including Thanksgiving Break & Christmas Break.

Face-to-Face Appointments

Schedule an appointment and come visit us!
You may call extension 4774 or make your appointment in person.

Please note:  *Appointments are required.*
Due to the high volume of appointment requests, drop-ins are not guaranteed writing feedback.

Electronic Appointments

Electronic appointments are designed for the convenience of SPS and distance-learning students.
Please call extension 4774 to request our email address, available only to current Vanguard students. Our email address is also printed on Writing Center brochures available in the SPS Office.

Please *do not* email a writing project without reserving an appointment first.
Papers emailed without appointments will be automatically placed on the Waiting List.

Please note:  All students are encouraged to make face-to-face instead of email appointments, if possible.

Writing Center Stamp

Vanguard students: If your professor requires a Writing Center Stamp as proof you received suggested revisions, please tell your Writing Consultant.  At the end of your appointment, the Writing Consultant will stamp your paper.  Some professors award extra credit for Writing Center stamps, while other professors require the stamp before accepting the final draft of your paper.  If you are an on-line student whose professor requires a Writing Center Stamp, your Writing Consultant’s e-mail message is equivalent to a stamp.

Summer Session Consultations

Our on-campus location is closed for the summer, and we do not have telephone service between Commencement and late August.  However, we provide on-line staff who review papers for the summer via e-mail. We review submissions on a first-come, first-served basis, and we try to guarantee a 48-hour turnaround for all papers, so please plan accordingly.

Writing Center Survey

You’re welcome to fill out the Writing Center Survey. We look forward to your feedback!

Writing Center Referral Form — For Faculty

Faculty referring students for long-term usage are invited to complete the Writing Referral Form on our website.  Please complete it & email it to us.  Our consultants will set up a long-term progress log to assess writing improvement.  This will enhance our annual assessment of the Writing Center’s SLOs and assist you in tracking the student’s writing development.

Writing across the Curriculum

What is writing across the curriculum?  How are “writing to learn” and “writing in the disciplines” important parts of it?

Our PowerPoint Presentations

Writing Center Orientation PPT (15 minutes)
Integrating Faith & Learning PPT (30 minutes)
Thesis Statements PPT (20 minutes)
Zapping the Bugaboos: Top Five Hit Parade PPT (30 minutes)
Introductions and Conclusions PPT (15 minutes)
Sentence Clarity and Variety PPT(15 minutes)
Critical Thinking & Writing PPT (20 minutes)
Logical Fallacies PPT (15 minutes)
Writing a Smooth Paper PPT (15 minutes)
Writing a Research Paper PPT (30 minutes)

Writing Handouts

Writing Handouts (includes academic citation styles)

*Please note:  Since academic citation styles constantly evolve, it is important for students to practice the discipline of using citation manuals rather than “memorizing” styles.  We guide students to use these resources, but we are not an editing or proofreading service.

Grammar Bugaboos

Grammar Bugaboo Check Sheet
Grammar Bugaboo Key
Bugaboo Bee Points (bookmark)

Writing Center Newsletter:
Rhema, The Living Word

The Writing Center newsletter, Rhema: The Living Word, features articles on composition theory and useful writing tips. Sample our newsletter articles from past, present, and future issues:


Campus Diversity Resources

Office of Diversity Programming & Mobilization
Diversity Scholarships
Affiliated Diversity Offices

Learning  Resources

Writing Archive of Excellence
Student Resources
Rhema: The Living Word
VU Library
Learning Center
Career Center

Writing Center Usage

Writing Sessions Served

2011-12: 1,747 // Waiting List: 556
2010-11: 1,450 // Waiting List: 484
2009-10: 1,316 // Waiting List: 399
2008-09: 1,750 // Waiting List: 559
2007-08: 1,719 // Waiting List: 675
2006-07: 1,539 // Waiting List: 298
2005-06: 1,270 // Waiting List: 65
2004-05: 1,123 // Waiting List: 68
2003-04: 603

Global English

ESL Tip Sheet for 10 Languages (from Keys for Writers, Ann Raimes)
ESL Cyber Listening Lab
Additional ESL Resources

Writing in a Bilingual Classroom

English Language Space Station (A UK ESL site)
Professor Jill Savitt, English & Spanish (Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute)

Writing an In-Class Essay

Writing Center at the University of Washington

Writing a Scholarship Essay

Handout from the University of Colorado
Tips from Yale University
Handout from University of California, Irvine
Tips from International Students Dot Com

Career Development Center

Sample Cover Letter
Sample Curriculum Vitae

Writing a Graduate Application Essay

“The Graduate School Essay” by University of Massachusetts, Lowell
“Writing the Graduate School Application Essay” by the Dartmouth College Writing Center

Writing a Business Letter

Guidelines for Business Letters

“Faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life . . .” (Titus 1:2).