Utilize the Writers Studio!

Most of you have essays due in the next week or two in both your Art History I class and your Reading and Composition class. 

You can work directly with a tutor in DCAD's new Writers Studio to improve your essays. It's free and you don't need an appointment.

Monday, 9-12 (Casey)
Tuesday, 1-6 (Mariam) 
Wednesday, 1-3 (Casey)
Thursday, 9-1 (Casey) & 1-6 (Mariam)

We're thinking about offering hours around dinnertime in 707, maybe 6-8 on Monday and Wednesday. Does this sound like a good idea?

Also remember that your instructors are available for tutoring during their office hours.

Amazing Online Resources!

I'd like to introduce you to a couple of wonderful websites that have been designed to help writers improve their academic skills.

The first might be familiar to you: the Purdue OWL. The acronym stands for Online Writing Lab, and the site hosts thousands of stand-alone pages that address virtually every conceivable writing situation. Take a look at the OWL site map. 

EXERCISE:  Surf through the pages and find one that interests you. Examine your chosen page and be ready to say a few words to the class about why you chose it, why it is potentially useful to you, and anything else you want to include.

The second site is far less popular than the OWL and far less complex. The Harvard "Strategies for Essay Writing" (SEW) website is hyper-condensed: 18 stand-alone pages that take you literally step-by-step through the process of writing an academic essay. It is, quite simply, great advice. 

EXERCISE: Click on the first page of the SEW. Read it carefully and be ready to discuss the most important take-aways from it. How should you read and analyze your assignments before you begin researching and writing?