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About the Writing Center
Our Mission:
The Writing Center supports American University’s commitment to promoting academic writing skills and student-centered learning for every student. Our cooperative approach offers skilled peer to peer coaching. We maintain distinguished academic standards for ourselves and as an extension, for all writers who visit us. As active scholars, we are dedicated to inclusive excellence, writing and the teaching of writing, and promoting the development of writers across disciplines, genre conventions, and styles.
Student Academic Services Overview:
We are committed to helping our students develop their writing skills and become their best academic selves. We are here for all enrolled American University students at any level, from any academic field, with any academic writing assignment, and at any stage in the writing process.
- General student support includes, but is not limited to: interpreting assignments and prompts, brainstorming ideas, developing theses and arguments, incorporating research and synthesizing information, understanding and exploring research methods, utilizing different citation styles, and finding strategies for revision.
International Students:
International students are welcome at the Writing Center no matter your cultural or language background, or your level of proficiency in English. Our consultants are not language or grammar instructors, but can still be an asset to international students adjusting to U.S. academic norms and improving their composition & language skills.
- Support for international students includes, but is not limited to: understanding U.S. academic culture and expectations for academic writing, strengthening written communication skills, improving English grammar & vocabulary, and increasing confidence in language skills.
About Us FAQs
The Writing Center can help with any academic writing assignment you have. This includes research papers, argumentative writing, creative writing, policy memos, scientific reports, capstones and dissertations, literature reviews & annotated bibliographies, and more!
However, please note that career writing such as resumes, CVs, etc., needs to be taken to the AU Career Center.
For more information, please view our page on Policies & Expectations.
Writing consultants will not simply “check your paper” or correct your errors line-editing style. Instead, they will teach you editing & revision strategies and improve your skills. They can help you recognize technical errors and develop your style and voice. Additionally, they can provide resource materials such as handouts regarding sources, grammar, organization, style, etc. to improve your writing.
Our sessions depend on mutual connection, conversation, and collaboration to be successful. Writing consultants have the right to end the session if a student simply wants proofreading without being willing to fully participate.
For more information, please view our page on Policies & Expectations.
Any currently enrolled undergraduate or graduate student can book a Writing Center appointment for themselves. Additionally, AU faculty and staff can also book appointments on behalf of a student.
Please note: All appointments must be scheduled in advance. We are regretfully unable to accept drop-in appointments at this time.
Yes, the Writing Center can review take-home essays given as midterm or final exams. However we require written consent from the instructor prior to your appointment. Your instructor can send permission to review your take-home exam to writingcenter@american.edu.
For more information, please view our page on Policies & Expectations.
As per our Code of Ethics, your consultations are kept confidential. We will not share details about your sessions externally, including with instructors, without your consent.
For more information, please view our page on Policies & Expectations.
The Writing Center holds brief informational classroom visits to discuss our services and how to access them with students. We can also hold workshops on specific subjects or group tutoring. However, limited staff limits our capacity to hold these. For more details, please look to our page on Faculty & Staff Information.
If you have any questions or would like to request a classroom visit, please reach out at writingcenter@american.edu, or contact our director Neisha-Anne Green at ngreen@american.edu.
Ethics & Values
In line with our mission statement, the Writing Center works hard to embody our ethics and values. This includes a commitment to linguistic justice through work and education. Click here to learn more.
Graduate Student Information
The Writing Center is proud to provide support to our graduate student body. We employ grad tutors from across academic fields to help you adjust to graduate-level coursework, further push and develop your skills, and provide sustained feedback for larger projects.
Questions?
If you have any questions regarding Writing Center services, please reach out at writingcenter@american.edu or via phone at 202-885-3360.