Writing Center Mission and Philosophy
"Everybody is talented, original, and has something important to say."
--Brenda Ueland, If You Want to Write
At the New Mexico Highlands University Writing Center, we believe that writing confidence and mastery are fundamental to student success and that every student has something important to say. To this end, we provide students with the guidance and resources they need to strengthen their skills and to enjoy the process of writing.
We are committed to serving all university students, freshman through graduate, with a holistic, student-centered approach to writing. Students may come to us at the beginning, in the middle, or near completion of their writing projects. Through one-on-one conferencing with our highly trained staff, students become better skilled in interpreting assigned reading and in developing and articulating their own ideas. They learn principles and strategies for the most effective organization of their materials. They learn to summarize, paraphrase, and quote accurately; to document sources correctly; to understand and apply instructors' comments so they can revise their papers effectively; to recognize and correct errors of grammar and mechanics; and to edit and proofread their papers. Perhaps most importantly, they learn to develop a sense of ownership and responsibility for their writing.
To help facilitate these goals, the Writing Center provides students with a non-threatening, comfortable, and courteous working environment. In addition to tutoring, we provide a library of source materials on writing, study skills, research papers, and documentation; computers for Internet research and word processing (available to students participating in Writing Center tutoring); and the Writing Workshop Series--a menu of presentations on writing skills. At the NMHU Writing Center, our priority is to serve those students most in need of strengthening their writing skills in order to ensure retention and college success, but we welcome all students who seek to develop the craft of writing. The Writing Center is ultimately dedicated to the development of the broadly literate student and to the improvement of writing quality throughout the student body. It advocates and adheres to high academic standards for college writers and fully supports the mission and philosophy of New Mexico Highlands University. |
