The young and the fruitless
By Rachel Smeda

Who wouldn’t like a little help with their papers? When students find that they need more than coffee and spell-check, some turn to the tutors at the Writing Lab.

Why should you gather your ideas, drafts and coffee-stained notes and hightail it to the Student Success Center?

More than 50 tutors sit ready to help you with any part of the writing process: brainstorming, organizing ideas, revising, analyzing and even comprehending a text. This free resource for undergraduate students has been an option for MU students since 1981. Elaine Hocks, director of the MU Writing Center, wants students to give it a chance.

“Try it,” Hocks said. “You’ll like it.”

That simple advice comes from someone who has seen the Writing Lab make a big difference. Questionnaires show that students who came three or more times saw their grades go up.

Tutors try to equip students with the tools to help themselves in the future. One tip that the Writing Lab uses is reading a paper aloud. Students catch many of their own errors this way.

A big problem Hocks has seen is students forgetting that they are writing for an audience.

“Students end up writing [their paper] to just their teacher, and they’ll leave all sorts of information out, so this is worse than even writing it to their selves,” Hocks said.

For any student who feels bad needing help, Hocks says that even professional writers have others read over and check their work.

Still, advice is useless if you don’t act on it. Students must have the time and desire to follow through on what the writing consultants suggest, Hocks said.

Due to the variety of tutors from all levels of expertise, some students have a better experience than others.

Taryn Dameron, an agricultural journalism freshman, didn’t have a positive first visit. Her tutor was not very knowledgeable and provided little helpful feedback.

“The stuff that he told me to do, I already knew myself,” she said.

Still, Dameron recognizes that one visit may not be representative of all that the Writing Lab has to offer.

“I might go back for another instructor,” she said.

For anyone seeking direction with a draft, instruction on their introduction or simply a fresh take on their thesis, the Writing Lab is more than happy to help.

Appointments are necessary. You can make yours by calling 882-2496, visiting http://www.missouri.edu/~lcwww/appointments or stopping by the Student Success Center on Lowry Mall.

If you’re too busy to come in to the lab, there is the Online Writery at www.missouri.edu/~writery where you can submit your paper and get feedback within 24 hours. .

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