As a Hopkins student, you will at some point in your course of study work on an essay or term paper. When in this position, you may encounter several obstacles.
Say for example that you've done the reading, but you don't quite know how to organize your ideas.
Say, you've got a thesis, but are having trouble supporting it.
Maybe, you're just about done, but are struggling to formulate a conclusion.
Or perhaps, your paper is finished, but you have a feeling improvements can be made.
Well, there's no need to sit frustrated staring at your computer or burst into tears in the HAC lab. Johns Hopkins' Writing Center was created for situations just like these.
Established in 1995 by undergraduates, graduates and faculty, the Writing Center is operated with support from the English department and professors Steven David and Adam Falk.
The Center addresses an administrative concern about the written work of undergraduates and provides these students with the opportunity to share their work at any stage of the writing process.
There, they can receive both honest feedback and individual attention from a trained and qualified tutor.
Tutors work one-on-one with students for as long as 45 minutes to discuss whatever elements of a paper, essay, proposal, application or personal statement are of particular concern.
Patrick Reiner, a sophomore physics major, visited the Center after completing a memoir for his expository writing class.
"I wrote it and I thought it was good, but I went so they could polish it," he said. Reiner said the tutor he worked with was friendly and he felt comfortable sharing his work with her. "I'd go again," he said.
Tutors at the Writing Center are both graduate and undergraduate students and represent all majors.
Undergraduate candidates for the position are recommended by teachers in writing intensive courses and submit writing samples for approval before beginning intensive training.
Graduate student staff members are hired by the Writing Center's director, who is currently Jason Potts, a graduate student in the English department, from where most of the staff comes.
Junior Farah Ahmad is an undergraduate tutor and a biology major. She enjoys working at the Center because it allows her to stay involved with the writing craft.
"It helps me keep English in my life," says the second-year staff member. Ahmad also finds her job to be educational, as she reads and discusses papers in all disciplines, and enjoys her role as a resource for other students. "You learn a lot from the papers," Ahmad said.
"I can tell when I'm helping people. A lot of people are afraid to approach a professor or a T.A., but at the Writing Center, we're just sitting having a conversation."
Sophomore tutor Jessica Yeatermeyer found that her training really emphasized the maintenance of this safe, nonjudgmental environment. "We want people to be comfortable," she said. "We give you the pencil so you're changing the paper. We just facilitate."
According to Yeatermeyer, a writing seminars major, the writing center's clientele is composed of three types of students.
There are those for whom English is a second language and who need a bit more assistance with grammar, those who repeatedly use the center and are always working toward improving their skills, and those whose professors either urge or require a visit.
The most common complications encountered by staff members include problems with the flow of a paper, presenting and organizing ideas in a logical order, transitions, overuse of the passive voice and most importantly, forming a thesis, introduction and conclusion.
In all cases, rather than simply proofread work, tutors will help students acquire skills that can be applied to future assignments.
"It's not about proofreading," said tutor Michelle Moniz, a junior and biology and English double major. "The goal is not to turn in a perfect paper, but to work on skills a student needs so that next time they write a paper, they'll have improved," she said.
Before leaving the Center students are sometimes asked to produce one "really good paragraph," which can serve as an example for subsequent work. "When you go home," Potts said, "You'll have something to look at."
In addition to being aware of these common errors or obstacles and noting one's own individual problematic tendencies, Potts also suggests that students may benefit from a session with a tutor after they've received a graded paper back from a professor in order to improve their overall writing process.
"During our downtime, people could come in and make more gains," he said.
This academic year has been the busiest so far for the Center. According to Potts this fact may be attributed to new hours, a permanent location in the Greenhouse behind Gilman (second door on the left side of the building), and just progressive growth.
Though the Center started as a small project, it has grown via word of mouth and through publicity measures like flyers, emails, and promotion by professors, especially those instructing writing intensive courses.
The Director also notes that many of the students visiting the Writing Center are frequenters.
"Students that take advantage, get a lot out of it. If we get a student in once, we see them for the rest of their time here," Potts said.
Any Hopkins student can take advantage of the Writing Center by e-mailing the staff at writingcenter@jhu.edu or calling x6-4258 to make an appointment. Drop-in students are also accommodated if possible.
The Center is open from 2 p.m. - 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. - 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and is predictably busiest on Sunday nights and during exam times.
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