Huddled in groups of four or five, graduate and undergraduate students poured over a sheet of paper containing many mistakes.
The Office of University Writing hosted a writing workshop on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. “Proofreading Your Own Writing” was held in one of the new interactive Mell classrooms and was led by James Truman, assistant director of the University writing office, The Miller Writing Center.
Students worked together to understand common errors and mistakes, build an error log and decipher how professional writing works. Doing so allowed the participants to see how mistakes influence communication.
An error log is how a writer can keep track of the common errors they make in their writing so they can be avoided in the future. Using this, writers can identify what they can gain control over and begin to make their writing look more professional, Truman said.
The Miller Writing Center, under the Office of University Writing, hopes to lead students into more empowered writing. Their motto: “All Students and All Writing,” includes every stage of development and style of writing.
When a writer identifies between mistakes and errors, they can grow and their work will become better because they are building on previous knowledge, Truman said.
“Even if you’re learning all the rules, studies have shown this – it doesn’t actually help you become a better writer. … Only practice helps you make it better,” Truman said.
One student in attendance, Courtney Judge, senior in nursing, said she found the workshop helpful because it allowed her to see all types of errors she could be frequently made. She believes a lot of it is personal since there are so many mistakes that could be made.
The goal of the workshop and the writing center is to show the many angles of writing and allow students to put that into practice, Truman said.
“Writing isn’t magically transmitting; it’s a process,” Truman said.
“Working on Writing,” or WoW Wednesdays, are weekly hosted sessions through the Writing Center that work on different aspects of writing.
The session was broken down into several tips and tricks that writers can use:
1. Break the writing down into a separation of drafting/revising and editing.
2. Professional writing is about communication rather than strictly following the rules.
3. Writers should not edit their pieces as they work. Instead, they should take some time to get their mind off the piece, or have a friend look at the work, Truman said.
4. Slow down. When a piece of work is read quickly, fewer mistakes will be caught. In addition, mistakes often tend to hide in the margins.
Using these tips, The Writing Center hopes students will become more confident in their work. In addition, the writing center is always available to help with that process, Truman said.
“We’re not here to fix papers, we are here to help people gain power as writers,” Truman said.
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