Writing Center

A writing specialist, peer Writing Center tutors, and other staff are available to help with writing skills and provide guidance with a variety of class assignments and projects.

Schedule and tutors

Interested in meeting with a tutor? View the Spring 2024 Writing Center schedule and learn more about our writing tutors!

If you need any assistance with writing or have any questions about writing support, please contact Ben Thiel.

Questions about ACE services?

Contact us

Expectations

If you visit the Writing Center for help with a specific assignment, please bring:

  • The assignment
  • Notes and grading criteria
  • Your files, if you have begun your paper

Students can expect assistance with:

  • Brainstorming
  • Organizing and structuring your paper
  • Documentation and sources
  • Tips to avoid plagiarism
  • Revision and editing suggestions
  • Resources and exercises to help overcome grammatical and mechanical problems

Contact

Writing Specialist
Free and by appointment
ACE@mtmercy.edu  
bthiel@mtmercy.edu 

Writing Peer Educators
Free and by request

Writing resources

Busse Library

How to find, use, and cite resources, and so much more. For graduate students: citation help and graduate-level writing, including literature reviews and annotated bibliographies.

APA Tutorials

Resources and videos from the American Psychological Association about using APA style.

Grammar Bytes: Grammar Instruction with Attitude

This site has it all: instruction, interactive quizzes, videos, and a MOOC.

Purdue OWL

Especially valuable for citation guidelines.

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Center for Writing Studies

Grammar handbook, citation styles, ESL resources, and writing tips. 

University of New Hampshire

Citation Styles; Elements of a Paper; Grammar and Usage; Types of Writing. 

Western Washington University

Strategies for Starting; Strategies for Revising; Strategies for Proofreading; Strategies for Studying; Grammar; Punctuation; Documentation.  

The Writing Center at UNC-Chapel Hill

Over 100 links/handouts on everything from commas to writing in specific academic fields.

The Writing Center at The University of Wisconsin-Madison

Handouts/links in the following categories: Improving Your Writing Style; Stages of the Writing Process; Common Writing Assignments, Grammar and Punctuation; and Citations.


Other Sites

studyandexam.com

The Basics of English Language. These handouts/links are been written for ESL students, but they will be helpful for everyone needing to brush up on grammar. (Has pop-up ads.) 

thepunctuationguide.com

Punctuation-only site with lots of good examples. 

grammarly.com

Grammar, punctuation, mechanics, sentence style and clarity, basics of writing, academic writing, organization and development, revising and editing, and research and documentation. 


@APA_Style, @APAStyleCENTRAL, @WUWritingCenter, and many other writing-related Twitter accounts offer daily tips and links.

FAQs

Drop in during Writing Center hours to work with a peer tutor, or email Writing Specialist Ben Thiel at bthiel@mtmercy.edu.

We can absolutely help with that. In fact, we can help no matter where you are in the writing process! Drop in during Writing Center hours to work with a peer tutor, or email Ben Thiel, the Writing Specialist at bthiel@mtmercy.edu.

We certainly can, but remember that we won’t edit or “fix” your paper. We will first look for patterns, and give you guidance about how to address those errors. If it seems as if you haven’t proofread, we may send the draft back and ask you to proofread on your own before we give you assistance.

As far as APA, we refer to the Busse Library APA Guide and can give some general instruction. Remember that many aspects of APA formatting are a matter of instructor preference, so it’s always a good idea to check with your instructor about whether they want, for example, a formal cover page.

If you have an odd or unusual source to cite, check with your instructor or the Busse Library staff, all of whom know a great deal more about APA than we do.

This happens a lot—maybe you’re writing up a lab report and it needs to be in a very specific style that we might not be familiar with. Or maybe your instructor needs you to present information in a template that we might not be familiar with. In these cases, we will connect you with a content- area tutor who is familiar with that style or requirement.

Please email Ben and he will consult with the professor. It might even be possible to have a meeting between you, the professor, and Ben, to be sure we’re all on the same page.

Please email Ben. He’ll answer your question and add it to the next version of FAQs.