Writing Center 

Welcome to the Writing Center at Our Lady of the Lake University. We are located in the Worden Building, Room 7. You can reach us at writing@ollusa.edu or by phone at 210-434-6711 ext. 2441.


Services Available for Students, Alumni, Faculty, and Staff

For students
Guidance in interpreting and completing assignments
Instruction in writing clearly and correctly, including pointers on spelling, punctuation, sentence structure, and style

Guidance on academic honesty (giving credit to sources, avoiding plagiarism)
Assistance with documentation systems (MLA, APA, Chicago, Turabian, etc.)
Feedback on drafts of written work
Training for tutors, graduate and undergraduate, including those who work with CAMP and Trio programs

For students and alumni
Assistance with personal statements and cover letters for graduate/professional school applications and for employment applications

For faculty
Feedback on developing and refining writing assignments
Resources to assess students’ performance on assignments (including suggestions on commenting effectively on assignments and assistance with rubrics)

For staff members
Feedback on written work (memos, correspondence, flyers, etc.)

For everyone
A place to work on writing
A place to meet other writers and share critiques
Services will be available in the form of individual consultations, small-group appointments, and scheduled workshops.

Writing Center Vision Statement

A community of thinkers and believers will grow stronger and more creative through the artful use of language. Thus the Writing Center at Our Lady of the Lake University aims to develop confident, responsible writers and to cultivate excellence in writing across all academic disciplines. We do this by providing professional development, tutoring, and space for individual writers to work and for groups of writers to collaborate. We recognize the importance of using diverse technologies and learning strategies to aid in the process of student learning. We participate in the wider academic community by cultivating leadership and a spirit of service, and by engaging in research and reflection on our work.

Guidelines

When you come to the Writing Center, please observe the following:

Set up an appointment if possible. Scheduled appointments take priority over walk-ins.
Plan to work closely with a tutor. You can’t just drop off papers for editing and pick up a corrected paper when you return.

Bring copies of assignments, documents or other materials that your instructor has given to you or that you have developed for your class.

As much as possible, complete your research before seeking help with research papers. If you need help conducting research, please speak with a librarian.

The Writing Center is generally a quiet space. Please set cell phones on silent before your tutoring session begins. Writing groups are welcome to use the Center as a space to share writing, but if the discussion level disturbs individual tutoring sessions, we may need to request that groups move to a library study room or some other space.

Scheduling

Appointments will generally be 30 minutes long.
If the Writing Center staff receives two appointments for the same time, the first received appointment will be given priority, and others will be scheduled in order of receipt at 30 minute intervals.
If you are ten or more minutes late to your appointment, it will be cancelled.

If your appointment reaches its time limit and other students are waiting, your appointment will be immediately concluded.

If your appointment reaches its time limit and there are no other students waiting, your appointment may continue for a reasonable period until other students require the tutor’s assistance or the tutor’s assigned hours come to an end.

If you cannot attend an appointment, please notify the Writing Center staff.
Walk-in appointments must wait until scheduled appointments have been concluded.
© Copyright 2009, Our Lady of the Lake University, 411 S.W. 24th St., San Antonio, TX 78207 | Tele: 210-434-6711