The Writing Center’s Mission Statement
The Writing Center serves as a place where students can work to become better writers, as well as to improve specific pieces of written work. We work with students of all levels of preparation and confidence who may be working at any stage of the writing process, from prewriting to revision.
The Writing Center’s Location and Schedule
The Writing Center is located in L-012.
For the Fall of 2024, the Writing Center will be open starting on Tuesday, September 03, at 9:00 am for in-person, video-chat, and email-based sessions. Find out more about our schedule. Find out more about our video-chat and email-based sessions.
Additional Options
SUNY Broome students can access free chat-based writing support (in English) through the STAR-NY tutoring consortium.
Find more information about STAR-NY (Online Tutoring). You can sign up for STAR-NY and select the “Request a Tutor” button to the lower right of the page.
How We Work
The Writing Center’s professional tutors are eager to help students in any course, regardless of their level of experience, expertise or confidence as writers.
Writing Center tutors work by appointment with students individually or in small groups (tutors facilitate these group sessions of 2-3 students). To schedule appointments, students can come to L-012 or call (607-778-5632).
Because we write to communicate, every writer needs a reader!
At the most basic level we write to express our ideas, to share them with others. As Nigel Hamilton so aptly noted, “If the reader doesn’t understand what you’re saying, you’re talking to yourself.”
Writers publish to communicate. So the writer’s biggest fear is being unclear.
This is where the Writing Center comes in. A writing tutor is a live audience member, one who gives instant feedback on the clarity and presentation and development of ideas.
Tutors ask questions. They play Devil’s Advocate. Their comments model the questions students should ask of their own writing in the future. Together they develop strategies writers might use to address those questions.
Professional writers seek feedback and revise. Student writers should do the same.
All writers learn as they write: they learn about their topic, they learn about themselves, and they learn about their relationship with their audience. Writing tutors illuminate these processes and help writers bring their words more fully to life. From beginning students struggling to express themselves to advanced writers seeking confirmation of the power of their words, all will find that the Writing Center tutors provide a supportive audience in helping them achieve their goals.
In tutorial sessions, tutors talk with students about their writing; we ask questions that help writers see their texts through the audience’s eyes and encourage them to explore options for drafting and revising their texts. Students often seek help with thesis statements, organization, development, citation of sources, development of proofreading strategies, and other concerns.
Questions?
During the Fall or Spring Semesters, if you have any questions, contact:
Michael Grubb
grubbmr@sunybroome.edu
607-778-5363 (or Broome extension 5363)
MLA
Some helpful MLA resources:
- SUNY Broome Library’s MLA Guide
- The MLA Style Center’s Works Cited Quick Guide
- The MLA’s Works Cited entry practice template (pdf)
- The Purdue University’s OWL MLA Formatting Section
A copy of the MLA Handbook’s 9th Edition can be found in the Writing Center, as well as updated handouts.
APA
Using APA? Confused? Some of the best resources for APA:
- SUNY Broome Library’s APA Guide
- SUNY Broome’s APA handout (pdf)
- SUNY Broome’s APA tutorial (lesson)
- APA Style Blog
- APA Style Basics (Academic Writer Tutorial)
- Purdue’s OWL’s APA Guide
A copy of the APA 7th Edition can be found in the Writing Center, as well as updated handouts.
