Our Goal

The NSU Writing & Academic Resource Center is here to serve NSU students to increase their knowledge and skills in effective academic writing and research practices. Feel free to visit us in person, call or email the Center, or visit our Facebook page for more information or to make a tutoring appointment. See below for contact information and details on the Center's mission, program, services, and upcoming activities.

Contact Information

Address: 335 Kyser Hall, 165 Sam Sibley Drive, Natchitoches, LA 71497

Phone: 318-357-6357 Email: nsuwritingcenter@nsula.edu

Web: http://langcomm.nsula.edu/writing-center/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/NorthwesternStateWritingCenter

Twitter: @NSUWritingCente (yes, the final "r" is missing).

Locations and Hours of Operation (Natchitoches campus)

Summer, 2013

Kyser Hall Center--Room 335 (third floor): Mon.-Thurs., 9:00 AM to 3 PM; Fri., 9:00 AM to 1 PM; May 20th to July 25th.
Watson Library Center--"The Outpost" (Reading Room, 2nd floor): CLOSED for summer.

Tutoring Appointments

Students: Click the "Book now!" link below to go to our online tutoring appointment book. You can schedule an appointment with a writing tutor and even choose a specific Writing Center staff member to serve as your tutor. The appointment book is available 24/7 for both the on-campus and online tutoring services. See below for more information on our tutoring services.

Book now!

News from the Center

WC is on Facebook and Twitter!: On Sunday, October 7th, 2012, the Writing Center went "live" with its own Facebook and Twitter accounts. These social media applications will be used to spread the word about the WC's mission, program, services, and sponsored events. Feel free to "Like" the Facebook page, post messages on the page, share the page with your Friends, and send "Tweets" to our Twitter account. Stay tuned for regular updates on our upcoming activities...
WebEx online tutoring now available: The Writing Center is pleased to announce the introduction of a new system for providing tutoring services to online students. WebEx is an audio/video system currently used by NSU to deliver live class sessions online. The Center began the use of the system for online tutoring during the 2012 summer session. Detailed information on the new online tutoring system is available in the "Tutoring Services" section below. Contact Dr. Mischler at mischlerj@nsula.edu or call him at 318-357-5574 for more information.
"Writing Workshop #2: Bibliography Software" handout materials are available! Free copies of the handout and the presentation slides (both in PDF format) are available below. You may download both for educational use.

WW #2 Handout WW #2 Slides

"Writing Workshop #1: The MLA 2009 Update" handout materials are available! Free copies of the handout and the presentation slides (both in PDF format) are available below. You may download both for educational use.

WW #1 Handout WW #1 Presentation Slides

Our Mission

The Writing & Academic Resource Center at Northwestern State University is a place where students can increase their knowledge and abilities in three areas of college-level academic skills: writing, content knowledge, and research. Trained undergraduate and graduate tutors provide free assistance and feedback on student academic projects. The Center also offers a comfortable atmosphere for studying. Below are brief descriptions of the three areas of tutoring offered.

Tutoring Services

I. Writing

A. On-campus: The goal of tutoring in writing is to help students become confident, aware, and reflective writers of papers for academic audiences. Through conversing, questioning, modeling, and explaining concepts, tutors and students collaborate in all aspects of language, communication, and literacy development, and students become active participants in their learning. Print and online resources in academic writing skills are also available in our Writing and Research libraries. A student may make an advance appointment (see "Book Now!" link, above) or come in as a "walk-in." Students with advance appointments are given priority over walk-ins.

Note 1: We will not proofread, edit, or in any way interfere directly with a student's own writing work. The Writing Center tutors provide students with information and advice on areas that are in need of improvment in a piece of writing. It is ths student's responsibility to use the feedback provided by the tutor to make revisions and corrections.

B. Online: For students enrolled in NSU Internet courses who cannot visit the on-campus locations for tutoring, tutors can assist students via either WebEx (NSU's online video/audio communication system) or email. Students *must* first reserve a date and time for the tutoring session using our online appointment book (see "Book Now!" link, above).

After making the appointment, the student must also send the following information to the Center's email address (nsuwritingcenter@nsula.edu):

a copy of the paper draft in Microsoft Word format
the assignment instructions
the course number
the professor's name and email address
information on the student's current computer set-up, especially the Internet connection type (e.g., "dial-up", "satellite," "DSL," "broadband").

Based on the information provided in the email message, the Center staff will determine the best method to provide tutoring services electronically, either via WebEx or email.

Note 2: As with face-to-face tutoring, the online tutor will not edit the student's paper. See Note 1 above for details.

Note 3: The student must plan ahead and make the appointment for on-line tutoring at least 3 days prior to the assignment deadline, in order to allow time for the student to make any needed revisions and turn in the paper by the assignment deadline. As with face-to-face tutoring in the Writing Center, the online student is responsible for meeting the assignment deadline.

II. Content Knowledge: The tutoring staff in the Center also has expertise in several academic fields related to the study of language, including English literature, rhetoric, film studies, cultural studies, linguistics, psychology, and English as a Second Language (ESL). Students may request tutoring in any of these subjects. Print and online resources in these subjects are also available.

III. Research: The Center also provides tutoring in academic research skills. Students who write research papers for courses in the Department of Language and Communication may request tutoring in effective practices for library and Internet research. Print and online resources in academic research skills are also available.

The Center is designed to serve the learning needs of NSU students in the three major areas of academic skills discussed above. Additional resources to support these areas are also provided; see below for details.

Academic Support Services

Writing Library and Research Library--writing handbooks and composition textbooks, dictionaries, literature anthologies, scholarly journals in literature and poetry, books on academic subject areas, and other printed academic resources;
Computer stations for writing and research projects;
Computer printer for printing English classwork;
Tables for studying.