By Jackie Adell, Communication Studies major, Class of 2017

Writing is one of the most sought after skills by employers today, according to a survey by the Association of American Colleges and Universities. This important skill is a major focus of the Harrington School and one of the reasons the Writing Center was established.

Located in Roosevelt Hall, the Writing Center offers a warm and inviting environment for students of all majors to work on their writing assignments and develop their writing skills.

Heather Price, director of the Writing Center said that a common misconception about campus Writing Centers is that they are simply a one-stop grammar fix-it shops, but that couldn’t be further from the truth at URI.

“The Writing Center is a place where students of all disciplines can come to get help on any project during any stage of the writing process,” Price said.

The center helps students with any stage of the writing process including brainstorming, drafting, re-organizing, and editing.

“Our goal is to make better writers, not just better papers,” Price said. “We use the student’s current piece of writing to spark a bigger discussion about his or her own writing process. The tutor can give the student tips and tools, which they can apply to future writing projects.”

Writing Center tutors go through a challenging upper-level course, Writing Consultancy, where they study the research behind Writing Centers. In addition, they conduct mock tutoring sessions and focus on techniques to overcome common writing struggles, such as writer’s block. These practices prepare tutors to help students each semester.

One of the top five necessities employers look for today in college graduates is strong writing skills. The majority of entry-level positions Harrington School graduates will be applying for will require them to do some sort of writing on a daily basis. The Writing Center is an exceptional resource for all students to not only improve individual writing projects, but also as writers.