The Writing Center
Personalized help and feedback that helps you develop confidence in your research and writing skills.
Fanny Jackson Coppin once wrote that “to speak a language correctly, and also to write it correctly, are of the first importance.” That’s why the Writing Center provides an inclusive and collaborative environment where all Coppin students, regardless of ability, can learn and develop their writing and research skills through personalized tutoring, resources, and community workshops. With empathy, adaptability, and community, we aim to build confidence and redefine what it can mean to be a writer in the classroom, the community, and beyond.
How can the Writing Center help me?
The Writing Center offers a range of services that can help Coppin students throughout the writing process. Our tutors can provide guidance on:
- academic readings of any kind – essays, textbook chapters
- platform literacy -- research databases, Microsoft/Google applications, AI tools like ChatGPT, etc.
- academic writing, including critical analyses, essays, rhetorical criticisms, and research papers
- creative writing, including short stories, poems, biographies, and memoirs
- business writing, including abstracts, case studies, and personal statements
- professional writing, including resumes, cover letters, formal memos, proposals
- oral presentations, including prepared speeches, PowerPoint presentations, and group projects
- scholarship and employment applications
Here are the different ways that you can connect with the Writing Center:
- Work one-on-one with a tutor in our space within the Eagle Achievement Center
- Work one-on-one with a tutor online via Microsoft Teams
- Request written feedback and receive a response from a tutor
- Attend a Writing Center workshop
We can give feedback to texts from any course at Coppin State, as well, not just English! Your draft doesn’t need to be complete to work with a Writing Center tutor, either.
Do I need an appointment to get help from the Writing Center?
Nope! You can walk in and see if someone is available for immediate assistance, but we encourage writers to be proactive and schedule an appointment with us in advance. The act of writing takes time no matter what, so it helps to plan accordingly and ensure you meet your deadlines.
Tutoring appointments are available at every half-hour interval, beginning at 8:30 AM and continuing until 4:00 PM. They are typically 45-60 minutes and can be done in person or online. Coppin students can make as many appointments as they believe they will need, up to one month in advance. If you want to collaborate with the Writing Center on an assignment from start to finish, we can help set up a plan.
Furthermore, if you think you will need a longer block of time with a tutor, would like to work with peers as a small group on a shared assignment, or have any other questions about appointment scheduling, please contact us to discuss your interests further.
Do I have to pay for any of the Writing Center's services?
Nope! All Writing Center resources and services are free to students.
What should I bring to my sessions at the Writing Center?
We encourage students to have their documents – prompts, drafts, rubrics, textbooks – ready at the beginning of a tutoring session. If you like to work with hard copies of text, bring one paper copy to share with a tutor. If you prefer to work from a laptop or tablet, prepare a browser window with open tabs for your digital texts (cloud-based drafts, sources, etc.).
Also, bring an open mind! Our tutors like to think of writing as a conversation, so we can teach you new ways to think about familiar questions.
What happens when I arrive at the Center?
First, we get to know about you and what you’re working on. Then, we will ask you to write down questions you have regarding your assignment. In other words, Coppin students have the power to decide how their Writing Center tutoring sessions will unfold.
Numerous things can happen from there! For example, if you have a prompt, you and the tutor will break it down together, negotiate when you might do each task, and brainstorm potential ideas. If you have an essay you need to read, you’ll do so together and then respond to it. If you have multiple questions about how to revise a draft, the tutor will focus on the one you think is most important and recommend a future session to address the rest.
In just about every case, we like to say that Coppin students should look forward to writing with us!
What can I expect from my Writing Center tutor?
Our tutors are here to help you become more confident about your writing and research skills. This means we're available to:
- help get you started with a writing assignment, like understanding what a prompt wants you to do, creating a plan to write a first draft, and generating ideas
- provide feedback to help you revise your draft and address questions about clarity, organization, expanding on ideas, and more
- offer personalized student consultations and support your ability to look more critically at your own work
- recommend tips on critical thinking, research, and various citation styles like MLA, APA, and Chicago style
- guide you through the process of identifying and self-correcting patterns of grammatical error on the sentence level
The Writing Center is also a judgment-free space. That means we can’t tell you what grade you might receive on a completed assignment, but it also means we don’t think in terms of “good” or “bad” writing. Our larger goals are to help Coppin students find their individual voices and discover how to make our tools for responding to reading and writing more thoroughly their own, for more effective communication in and out of the classroom.
Who has access to my Writing Center work?
Unless specifically requested by a student, we do not release any working documents to your instructors.
How does the Writing Center handle plagiarism?
We will not make your edits or do your work for you—that is plagiarism. We report any evidence of intentional plagiarism to the Writing Center Coordinator for review and potential action. Intentional plagiarism is when you use someone else's ideas and/or words and purposely call them your own.
Resources & Tutorials
Does the Writing Center have any other resources available?
Yes! Even the best writers need help sometimes, so we have a number of handouts and video tutorials below that Coppin students can review as needed.
Don’t see anything that answers your question? Come see us and let us know! Ensuring that Coppin students have everything they need to succeed as writers is an ongoing process, too, and we love this stuff.
Video Tutorials
Using Zotero to Manage Academic Sources
This video is an overview of using the online citation tool Zotero (https://www.zotero.org) to manage sources for academic research.
Now Hiring
Are you interested in becoming a peer tutor?
The Coppin State Writing Center is hiring new peer tutors for the Fall 2024 semester! Here’s what you need to know:
- You don’t have to be an English major to become a peer tutor at the Writing Center!
- Tutors can work up to 20 hours per week and make $17.00 an hour.
- You’ll receive training and professional development opportunities to learn more about collaborative writing processes and the conversations that drive writing centers and writers forward, ranging from multilingualism to generative AI and wellness.
What requirements are there to be considered as a peer tutor?
We have only a few requirements. First, peer tutor applicants must have passed English 101 and 102 with an “A” or “B” grade. Next, applicants must be enrolled for at least six (6) units of coursework in the Fall 2024 semester. Lastly, we always encourage applicants to come to the process with an open mind about learning new ways to think about writing!
How do you apply to be a peer tutor?
Before you start the online application form, we suggest having the following documents ready because you’ll need to upload them as part of the process:
- Resume or curriculum vitae (CV)
- Cover letter that explains your interest in becoming a writing tutor
- Faculty recommendation document
- Writing sample of at least four (4) pages
- Copy of your projected class schedule for Fall 2024
- Copy of your unofficial transcript
When you’re ready, just click the button below to begin! If you have any questions about the role that aren’t answered here or run into any trouble with the application, please contact the Writing Center Coordinator whenever we’re open.
The Writing Center is open to all students. The Center is part of the Eagle Achievement Center (EAC).