Northwest Opens Oxford Writing Center To Assist Students

After a year of development, Northwest’s Oxford Center has opened its own Writing Center. The new center offers a place for students to get help on their writing assignments. New-age technology is also being added to help eLearning students seek advice from their home. 
The Writing Center was an idea launched during Northwest’s 2016 Quality Enhancement Plan to improve student writing. The first writing center was opened on the main campus in Senatobia the previous year, but now writing centers can be found on the Oxford and DeSoto campuses. 
“From posting on social media to sending emails, quality writing skills are needed both inside and outside the classroom,” Carroll Huebner, coordinator of the Oxford Writing Center, said. “It also overlaps into spoken word by helping you think about what you should say.”
Formally, Northwest students needing help on a paper would seek advice from the Ole Miss Writing Center. Students enrolled in English Composition I and II could go to an instructor for help, but each instructor could not work one-on-one with each student. 
 “They start by coming to me and telling me about their assignment,” Huebner said. “A lot of what we do in the writing center is talk about the writing process.” 
The Oxford campus’ Writing Center is located at 1310 Belk Drive. While students can meet with the coordinator in the lab, students can also meet in Huebner’s office to discuss their papers. 
“I feel that students will need this to improve their writing skills,” Breton Barr, a sophomore studying art from Oxford, said. “We are going to need writing skills to further our education and get job interviews.”
An online appointment option is available for online students, as well. 
“If I am not able to meet with them in the lab, students can go online and make an appointment to meet with a peer consultant from any campus,” Huebner said. “ We have cameras, headphones, and microphones so that students can communicate online.” 
Students can also display their papers online and receive live feedback from peer consultants. This will also help eLearning English Comp. I and Comp. II students who can receive personal help when they can not come to campus. 
“Online learning is growing, Huebner said. “I think there will be a great need for that.”
As pushed by the QEP, all Intermediate English students must make two appointments to visit the Writing Center.
“It will give a lot of help to the new students who need more leave way,” Noah Kassel, a sophomore studying general college from Oxford, said. “It can help students in English Comp. I and II boost their grades so that they do not have to withdraw from a class.” 
The faculty of the Writing Center is also developing a new program tailored especially to Northwest students to cite sources and writing tips. The new program will be created using the O.W.L. website to formulate writing references such as MLA, APA and Chicago. The new program may take a semester to develop. 
“Students can make an appointment online or just drop by my office,” Huebner said. “We’ll talk through their papers.”

Students can go to www.northwestms.edu/write to make an appointment. 

Allen Brewer is an intern for hottytoddy.com. He can be reached at agbrewer@go.olemiss.edu.