The Writing Center

The Bucknell Writing Center serves graduate students as well as faculty, staff, and undergraduates. Writing consultants work with individuals at any stage of the writing process — planning, drafting, or revising. They help with such varied pieces as lab reports, term papers, master’s theses, and cover letters. Consultants respond to ideas and written drafts, telling the writer where ideas do not seem clear or logical and offering strategies for revision. They also can help students prepare for oral presentations.

The Writing Center is located in Roberts Hall 100A and may be reached at x73141. Detailed information is available at the Writing Center’s website at www.bucknell.edu/WritingCenter.

Theses

Thesis writers often work closely with Writing Center staff, making a series of appointments to talk over their ideas, discuss ways to organize their research, and read through drafts of their theses, section by section. The writing consultant can point out where readers need more information and where connections are unclear. Although Writing Center consultants may not be familiar with the technicalities of a given discipline, they can show writers methods of making the writing clearer and thus more effective.

English as a Second Language

The Writing Center staff also helps non-native English speakers to express their ideas in idiomatic English. Writing consultants can help students who are unfamiliar with writing for an American audience, especially an academic audience. Because patterns of organization differ from culture to culture, an awareness of these differences will help students write more effectively.