Writing Center set to host spring workshops

January 30, 2012 by Fantasi Pridgon 

Students learning English may benefit most from semi-annual free service

The UNLV Writing Center, in conjunction with the college of liberal arts and the department of English, is gearing up for this semester’s round of workshops.

The free, 50-minute sessions on special topics in writing will run from Feb. 6 until Feb. 16 on the second floor of the Student Union. They are open to all UNLV students, faculty and staff.

Topics will include Introductions and Thesis Statements, Writing a Research Paper and Writing Effective Arguments. Workshops are taught by UNLV Writing Center consultants including students, part-time instructors and professors.

Jacquie Elkouz, assistant director of the Writing Center, said workshops are scheduled during the first half of the semester so that students have a sufficient amount of time to prepare for upcoming exams.

“We have them before midterms so that people are not overly busy,” she said.

Elkouz also said that the dates usually coincide with students receiving their first writing assignments, so they have the opportunity to seek answers on questions they have about writing.

Elkouz said most who have attended workshops during previous semesters were international students learning English as a second language (ESL).

“Some are sent by their instructors and some come on their own because they find them beneficial,” she said.

Two workshops — English for International Students I and II — are intended specifically for international students.

Robert McGirr, a professor at the English Language Center who teaches the ESL workshops, said they are important to students who are in the process of learning English.

“[The students] seem to benefit a lot,” he said. “They always say they pick up a few cues and learn a bit more, so it’s good.”

Regina Xu, a first-year international student who attended workshops last semester, found them immensely helpful. She said she puts a great deal of time into learning English, which, she said isn’t easy.

“Grammar and slang are the most difficult when I am studying English,” she said. “It’s still tough when I’m talking to a native speaker.”

Writing Center director Patrice Hollrah said decisions on what types of workshops are offered is based in part on the kinds of questions that students come to the Writing Center with.

“We have a lot of students who have trouble with style guides,” she said. “So they come for that and [that] is one of the reasons that we offer the MLA and APA workshops.”

Hollrah said that knowing the kinds of grammar and punctuation issues students have in their writing is a good indicator of what kinds of workshops will be offered.

“A lot of beginning college writers have issues with just organizing a paper,” she said. “And then a lot of students have challenges with timed essays, so that’s why we offer that one.”

Students who have had issues with plagiarism, Hollrah said, later come to the center. Students whose professors believe they have plagiarized intentionally or unintentionally are referred to the Office of Student Conduct, then consultants at the Writing Center help them learn how to cite sources accurately.

“Those students are sent to the Writing Center to make sure they understand how to avoid that problem in the future.”

Elkouz said that in previous semesters, 12 to 15 students attended each workshop and she expects the same this semester. She said students can get one-on-one attention because they won’t be “lost in a big class.”

To sign up for a workshop, students can call or stop by the Writing Center, located in the Central Desert Complex (CDC) building 3.

They can schedule one-on-one consultations the same way.

Writing Center services are for UNLV students, faculty and staff only, and they are all free.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
The UNLV Writing Center: (702) 895-8908, writingcenter.unlv.edu

Contact Fantasi Pridgon at fantasi.pridgon.ry@gmail.com.

EDITOR’S NOTE: News editor Haley Etchison teaches The Writing Center’s “Writing With Style” workshops.