First-Year Writing Studio History and Mission Statement

Until the Fall 2000 semester, the Department of English supported and housed a Writing Center open to all university personnel and students. In the Fall of 2000, a cross-curricular University Writing Center, under the direction of Dr. Patrick Bizzaro and supported by the office of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, opened in locations across the campus to provide writing assistance to other academic areas. With the opening of the University Writing Center, the First-Year Writing Studio concentrated its efforts in providing consulting and workshops for English 1100 and 1200 students.

The First-Year Writing Studio operates on the belief that, to be successful, a writer must be able to anticipate the effects of his or her words on readers. The Studio is thus a place where students can share their work-in-progress and talk about their writing with careful readers and experienced writers. Studio consultants are committed to helping writers at all stages of the writing process, from generating ideas for a paper to developing and polishing later drafts. We aim to assist writers with specific assignments while also teaching writing strategies that can be applied to future writing projects. Our services are not remedial; rather, they are additional resources for any English 1100 or 1200 student who wishes to become a better writer.

With the understanding that teaching writing is a complex, multi-faceted process, the Studio also supports teachers of First-Year Writing by offering workshops on a variety of writing-related topics. These workshops expand the range of instruction available for student writers and enable instructors to customize instruction in response to students' needs.

View the Writing Studio's Statistical Summaries:
Spring 2002 Summary
Fall 2001 Summary