The tutors at the Dixie State University Writing Center are changing the format of their instructional writing workshops this spring to reach out to more students.
The new, hour-long workshops scheduled for the spring are going to be half tutor-led presentations and half audience engagement. Lauren Jo Sypniewski, the Writing Center coordinator and English instructor, said she hopes the new interactive format of the workshops will help bring more people to the Writing Center to get help.
“These workshops are going to be pretty fun and informational,” Sypniewski said. “[Students] will get to learn directly from their peers. They can communicate with [the tutors] at a different level than if they were trying to get help from their professors.”
The workshops focus on various topics including how to prewrite effectively, creating a strong thesis, writing with an active voice, résumé and professional writing for careers, writing cohesive introductions and conclusions, and using punctuation correctly.
The workshops will be held at different times each week to try to cater to the most students possible, unlike past semesters where the workshops were at the same time each week, Sypniewski said. The workshops are located in the Holland Centennial Commons. The schedule for the spring workshops can be found at dixiewritingcenter.com.
The first workshop will be at noon on Wednesday, Feb. 4. Each workshop is presented by a different tutor to ensure variety.
Dexter Humphreys, a senior communication major from Hatch, will be facilitating the workshop on structuring introductions and conclusions in April.
“It’s a really small setting so it can be really hands-on and involved,” Humphreys said.
At the workshops following the presentation, attendees will be putting their new skills to the test by practicing their writing. That way, the tutors can help all the students individually and give them specific feedback.
Humphreys said he feels like the workshops are going to be helpful for all the students who attend.
“[The workshops] are important because a lot of students … do not know some of these specific skills we will be working on and don’t know where to get help,” Humphreys said. “This is a really easy way for everyone to improve their writing.”
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