Volume 4 Issue 3

in this issue >>>

by Sienna Smith

“EMBRACING AND EMPOWERING ONE WRITER AT A TIME”

Write The Track

Faculty Spotlight Page 2

Fast Facts Page 2

Creative Writing Page 3

Tutor Review Page 3

Continued on Page 2>>>

Worthwhile

Workshops

Tallahassee’s gray winter days are over! Say “goodbye” to Seasonal Affective Disor-

der, for it is now time to smell the citrus blossoms and soak up the infamous Florid-

ian sunlight. The brains of all who reside “on the hill” are now brimming with long-

desired vitamin D, ready to absorb new knowledge, and Florida A&M University’s

Writing Resource Center (WRC) hopes to quench that intellectual thirst. The Center

will be open all summer long so that students can ward off lazy summer days by

scheduling one-on-one tutorial sessions or by attending WRC workshops.

Since the spring semester of its debut academic year, the WRC has facili-

tated over 150 workshops for the benefit of the FAMU community. A lot of these

workshops cover the basics of writing. The WRC also provides workshops on broader

subject matter. These workshops touch on certain facets of the writing process that

are a little more expansive than fragments or pronoun reference. A workshop of this

type can range from discussing personal statements to mastering the marriage of

written language and public speaking. Professors can request any of these work-

shops to be facilitated in their classrooms by filling out the request form found at the

Center’s front desk or online at www.famu.edu/wrc. Also, each year, since the fall of

2008, the Center gives a weeklong series of workshops, titled “Write Your Way Up,”

that addresses writing across the curriculum.

The tutors at the Writing Resource Center find great reward in acting as workshop facilitators. It gives them a

chance to share with a large group what they share with individuals during tutorial sessions. Tutor Douglas Scheider de-

scribed facilitating his first orientation workshop as a “welcoming and well-received” experience. Scheider also stated that

he was pleasantly “surprised by the pride and sense of belonging to the Center” that the workshop gave him. Because the

workshops force the facilitators to work on leadership and public speaking skills, they are mutually advantageous to tutors

and attendees alike.

Coordinator of Academic Support Services, Esther Spencer stated that the WRC’s most popular workshop is un-

doubtedly the “MLA Documentation Style & Plagiarism Workshop.” MLA documentation style, with its parenthetical cita-

tions and alphabetized works cited page, details specific rules by which writers may document the sources referenced in

their work. To help students avoid accidental plagiarism through ignorance of the intricacies of this style’s conventions,

professors book workshops through the WRC.

Worthwhile Workshops

Faculty Spotlight

Fast Facts The WRC has been doing great work; here are

the numbers to prove it.

Dr. King-Pedroso, a huge advocate of

WRC workshops, said that her students,

who attended the MLA Workshop on

March 28, 2012, were “fully engaged by

both the facilitation and information presented.” The topic had an immedi-

ate impact on the research papers that her students were in the process of

writing at the time. King-Pedroso also shared, “I absolutely plan on utilizing

the Center and its workshops in my summer curriculum.”

This summer, the WRC plans on conducting workshops in class-

rooms around the university. These workshops will allow students enrolled

in summer courses an opportunity to brush up on grammar and composi-

tion skills. Professors can continue to request in-class workshops through-

out the summer sessions. Writing is a vital inlay in the foundations of all

disciplines, and the Writing Resource Center believes that its main purpose

is to provide a multitude of ways to learn to do so effectively. So, besides

getting plenty of sunscreen and H2O, make scheduling a workshop hosted

by the Writing Resource Center a summer essential.

Sienna Smith

Continued from Page 1>>>

If you think only students who are

studying English can take advan-

tage of the Writing Resource Center

(WRC), think again. Students from

all disciplines and majors can find

assistance with their writing in the

WRC. Professor Chandra Clark

sends her speech students to the

WRC to learn the mechanics of writ-

ing as well as how to cite various

sources. “The Writing Resource

Center helps with learning to dis-

cern various types of sources as to

their credi-

bility,” said

Clark. Ac-

cording to Clark, she refers students

who are challenged with using proper

grammar in their speaking to the Cen-

ter, to help them learn how to speak and

write standard English. “If you know

how to articulate your thoughts orally,

you can do so in written form,” she said.

In spring 2010, Professor Clark

participated in the Center’s Write Your

Way Up, Speak Up Forum: “I enjoyed

on Professor Chandra Clark

16 During the spring 2012 semester, the WRC facili-

tated 16 in-Center and in-classroom workshops.

3,422 In spring 2012 semester, the WRC experienced at

least 3,422 visits from students, faculty, and staff.

97% In spring 2012, the WRC received a 97% rate of

customer satisfaction (4-above average and 5-

superior) with services received in the Center

99% During May & June, the WRC received a 99% rate

of customer satisfaction (4-above average and 5-

superior) with services received in the Center.

9 During May & June, the WRC facilitated 9 in-

Center and in-classroom workshops.

225 During May & June, the WRC experienced at least

225 visits from students, faculty, and staff.

Continued on Page 3>>>

by Olivia Jones

Tutor Review

the Write Your Way Up forum.

It revealed a holistic approach

to reading and writing. The

interdisciplinary aspect of the

forum touched the entire uni-

versity, and students had an

opportunity to see how all skills

coalesce.” She asserts that

speaking and writing skills will

always be valuable in the work

place. “Technology may evolve

and expand, but the basics of

good writing and speaking re-

main the same,” said Clark.

UntiledUntiledUntiledUntiled By Mathew Gray

Flash!

A magnificent light appears, contentment smears my face,

No longer do I pace, I wait, I wade, I wade,

Through a basin of glorious rays of light gently massaging my face,

The blissful warmth compliments the light supremely, divine

It is a major canon of most scholarly

writing to speak in third person. As a

tutor, I instinctively raise my pen as soon

as I see the word “I” appear on a paper.

It’s thought that first person takes away

the authority with which the speaker

writes. In John Bess’ “Whose I Am I?...,”

first published for the 2006 Conference

on College Composition and Communi-

cation, we see the positive elements of

subjectivity brought to light. The au-

thor’s basic premise comes from the

writings of Jean Merlou-Ponty, who ex-

plains that, because each individual’s

understanding of the world is influenced

by society, a writer can speak subjec-

tively and still pay respect to societal

norms. The author goes on to say that,

while knowledge is socially constructed,

Creative Writing from the Writing Resource Center

intervention.

What is this paradisaical existence?

Hell.

The Holocaust The Holocaust The Holocaust The Holocaust

By Jasmine Johnson

The bitter pain so deep legs stop trotting lips stop moving throats run dry tears have run out so long gone

their presence unremembered save for the salt remaining on their cheeks

one thought runs through their minds one single solitary Word

one must be able to express oneself as

an individual before fully applying that

knowledge. The early stages of a writer’s

development serve as a starting point

for writers to explore the knowledge so-

ciety gives them. It also allows the writer

to offer perspective which gives context

to whatever truth he is speaking. The

potential of subjectivity according to

Merlou-Ponty highlights the opportuni-

ties one can find to express ideas from a

first-person perspective.

by Akia Sembly

Spotlight Continued>>>

Continued on Page 4>>>

May

May 7 First Day of Class Summer A May 28 Memorial Day

June

June 13 Last Day of Classes Summer A June 14-15 Summer A Final Exams June 25 Fist Day of Class Summer B June 26 Tutor Training

July

July 2 Start of Focus Groups in WRC July 4 Independence Day

August August 1st Last Day of Classes Summer B August 2-3 Summer B Final Exams August 3 Commencement

events... coming Writing Resource Center Monday-Thursday

8:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.

124 Tucker Hall Tallahassee, FL 32307

Phone (850) 599-8391

Fax (850) 412-5362

www.famu.edu/wrc

www.rich36.com/famu

www.famu-wrc.blogspot.com

A TITLE III ACTIVITY

Editor Dr. Veronica Yon

(WRC Director)

Managing Editors

Esther Spencer

Douglas Scheider

Layout Designers

Cameron Askew

Carmita McCall

Staff

one question remaining unanswered why? eyes search hearts ache breath wills itself to stop but the question re-mains unanswered why?

Just LearnedJust LearnedJust LearnedJust Learned

By Douglas Scheider

(It already) set in mo-tion,

the slow crawl of connection planting conspiracy’s kiss unassuming on the shivering skin of stasis.

An assemblage of rambling verbosity labors slowly towards an alliance regained.

So is shown at our becoming:

Those marked rise, fluid, as on a string towards the ceiling.

There they hover, naked, silent in accusation, no part of what became.

“explore,” in letters near the corner.

“grow,” ominous, above the stove.

Continued from Page 3>>