Last week I was introduced to the Writing Center. Located on the 8th floor, the center provides free help with editing and improving your writing. When I got there, I was greeted at the front to a friendly lady who helped me sign up. I logged in with my Baruch computer username and password and gave her a bit more information and that was all there was to it! After I signed up, I met with one of the tutors to help edit an essay I have due. I was astonished and grateful as to how helpful the session was. Although I had proofread the entire essay aloud, two nights before I got to my session, and made changes, there were many more improvements to my writing that were made. Also, it was amazing to have another person read my work because I myself cannot find grammatical mishaps, but someone else can easily recognize when a sentence sounds weird. After spending over an hour at the center, I made all the necessary revisions to improve the essay and help get the amazing grade I am shooting for. I am happy that I learned about the writing center because it will be a great tool for me to use throughout my entire time at Baruch College. Also, because of the easy in making an appointment, I know that I can make appointments on a short notice and participate in as many of these workshops as I want. One lesson I actually learned while I was in my session was that usually, I begin many sentences with, “when ___,___ is ___ing ___”. This a sentence structure results in a passive verb which is not good writing. On the other hand, I was taught to drop the “when” and begin the sentence with the subject and the verb ending in an “s”. This sentence structure results in an active verb which is a higher level of writing. I can not wait to visit the writing center again in the future!
