The Writing Center consists of student tutors and administrative director, Dr. Carol Fox. We assist any law student seeking help with his or her writing (with restrictions as specified by individual professors). We welcome any student at any stage (from brainstorming to polishing) of any academic writing project; we will let you know if the deans or faculty have restricted us from working on the type of project you have in hand. Because the process of learning legal writing is very difficult, we especially encourage first year students in CORE I/II to visit the Writing Center often.
Our Mission:
- To offer help to any writer at any stage of any academic writing project (with restrictions as specified by individual professors)
- "Our job is to produce better writers, not better writing." (Stephen North, The Idea of a Writing Center, 1984) Our primary concern is the writing process; "the object is to make sure that writers, and not necessarily their texts, are what get changed by instruction." (Id.)
- To give students an informal and relaxed environment for conversation with peers trained to talk about writing
What we will do:
- Meet with writers who are brainstorming, drafting, or revising
- Read through and discuss elements of their work with them, suggesting points and processes for improvement
- Meet with writers who have received comments or grades from professors to provide additional assistance in putting their professors' advice into practice
- Provide a sounding board for writers, though not a source of authoritative advice (professor is the authority)
- Maintain confidentiality (however, students are free to discuss their Writing Center work with their professors at any time)
What we will not do:
- Edit or proofread texts for writers
- Provide content advice on papers (writers should consult professors for this)
- Guarantee any writer any certain grade on any paper
- Critique any assignment or professor (our efforts are meant to help writers successfully engage with their assignments)
