Writing Center

Photo of student receiving writing support
Albany Campus
Willamette Hall, 1st Floor
writingcenter@linnbenton.edu
541-917-4708

Monday: 9:00am - 4:00pm
Tuesday: 9:00am - 4:00pm
Wednesday: 9:00am - 4:00pm
Thursday: 9:00am - 4:00pm
Friday: 9:00am - 3:30pm

At LBCC's Writing Center, our goal is to help students become more confident, effective, and expressive writers -- and to make the writing process more joyful. We offer coaching for all students for any writing project, in any class, and at any stage in the writing process.

Three Ways to Use Writing Support

Drop In

The Writing Center is located on the Albany Campus, in the library, on the first floor of Willamette Hall. We offer 20-30 minute in-person drop-in sessions as well as easy access to reference services for research help. No appointment needed! Just stop by during our open hours (see above).

Make an Appointment

We offer one-on-one writing assistance on an appointment basis. During the session, you can share your documents, talk through ideas, ask questions, and receive feedback on your writing.

  1. Log in to My LB. Choose the Learning Center tile.
  2. Go to "Search Availability..." on the left-hand side.
  3. Under "Center," choose Writing Center.
  4. Under "Section," choose the class that you'd like help with.
  5. Under "Location," choose whether you'd like an in-person or an online appointment.
  6. Use the date and time selectors to narrow down your preferred appointment options and then select "Search" to view available slots.
  7. Choose an appointment by selecting the time that works best for you.
  8. Add a note if you would like your tutor to know anything before the appointment and then select "Save" to book.

Submit to the Online Writing Lab (OWL)

The OWL allows you to utilize our services without using Zoom or being on campus. When you submit your work to the OWL, you will receive written feedback via email from one of our Writing Assistants within 48-72 business hours.

If you do not receive a response to your submission within three days, please reach out to us (see above). Thank you!

OWL Submission Form

About Us

The Writing Center is a place for all students to get free assistance with their writing. Our goal is to coach you through the writing process, help you to strengthen your writing, and give you the steps to become your own best editor. We do this primarily by talking to you in a one-on-one session or by sending you written feedback. When we meet with you, we want to know what your writing goals are, and together, we will determine the next steps for our time .

Our mission is to help you navigate the complicated landscape of academic writing. We cannot guarantee an error-free paper or that you will receive a perfect grade after working with us; however, we can guarantee that we will stay present, listen with respect, and respond with compassion while working with you.

Our Writing Assistants are successful student writers who have been trained to provide writing feedback. By offering you individualized writing support, we can help you to identify what is already working well in your writing, as well as what needs more attention. As you practice new skills and refine your writing process, we are here to be your cheerleaders, guides, and allies.

For Students

Every session starts with your individual needs, questions, or concerns as a writer. Your Writing Assistant will ask to see the assignment instructions, so please be prepared to share these with us. You do not need to have anything written yet, but if you do, your Writing Assistant will likely ask you to share your draft, either printed or on a computer. We have desktop computers available, or you are welcome to bring your own device. If you prefer to have the materials printed, we recommend bringing two copies. 

If we are meeting over Zoom, the Writing Assistant will ask you to share your screen or send your materials to our email address. In Zoom, we have the ability to draw, take notes, and share resources and links through the chat. You may keep your camera on or off depending on your preference. We recommend working from a quiet location. 

Once a focus for the session has been identified, the Writing Assistant may read the paper aloud with you, or silently if you prefer, and discuss appropriate ideas and strategies to revise the paper. 

If you have submitted to the Online Writing Lab, which is a separate service run by the same people, we will provide you with written feedback that will be shared with your LBCC student email address through a Google Doc. The content of our "live" sessions and our Online Writing Lab responses is very similar; we are always working to help you improve your overall writing skills. 

No matter how you work with the Writing Center, we will stay focused on your needs and questions. We hope that you leave with an idea for your next steps and a plan to keep writing. The Writing Assistant may encourage you to visit again for another session; there is no limit to the number of times you can use the Writing Center, and we are most effective when you visit multiple times. 

If you have met with us over Zoom or in person, we can send your instructor an email to confirm that we met with you. Just be sure to let us know that you need us to do so. 

If you have submitted your work through the OWL, you can click a box in the submission form that will automatically send a confirmation email to your instructor. This confirmation email does not include your form responses; it is just a brief email to confirm that you have submitted a document to the OWL. 

The length of a session can vary according to the complexity of the project, the stage in the writing process, and the question or concern being addressed.

In-person drop-in sessions are typically 20-30 minutes, and we will limit our sessions to 20 minutes if we are busy. 

Zoom appointments are scheduled for 45 minutes.

When it is time for your appointment, you will need to log in to TutorTrac through My LB. Look for TutorTrac: Learning Center in the bottom row and click on it. 

You will be brought to the main TutorTrac page. Under “Upcoming Appointments,” you should see a link to your Zoom meeting. This link will appear 15 minutes before your scheduled appointment time. If your Writing Assistant doesn’t arrive on time, please contact us (see above); there may have been a technical difficulty that prevented us from getting to you. 

Here is a video tutorial that will walk you through the process for attending a Zoom appointment through TutorTrac.


For Instructors

We love visiting with your students to tell them about our resources. Please contact us to schedule a class visit or tour of our services, in-person or online. 

If your course is housed in Moodle, please link students to our Moodle page. The most straightforward way to share the page in your Moodle course is with a URL Resource.

If your course is asynchronous and not housed in Moodle, please link students to our webpage directly. It is best to use a link to the website rather than copy/pasting our information, as we occasionally need to make changes to our availability.

Here are the confirmation methods we recommend:

  • Zoom sessions (appointment or drop-in): Students can request that their Writing Assistant email you directly to confirm their session.
  • OWL responses: Students can check a box in our submission form and enter your email to send an automatic confirmation email to you.
  • Any type of session: Some instructors assign a Writing Center reflection, which is typically a short essay asking the student to describe their experience, what they took away from the session, and what changes they chose to make to their work afterward. This can help students stay present, think critically, and process what we tell them.

If a student forgets to ask for proof of their visit, we may be able to retroactively confirm their session. To see if this is possible, you can contact us (see above).

First of all, thank you for supporting our service and helping us reach your students! Here are some tips for helping us manage a potentially large influx of students from a particular class: 

  • Contact us (see above) with the timeline of your assignment, so that we can make sure we have adequate staffing.
  • Encourage your students to make appointments rather than dropping in.
  • Send us a copy of your assignment guidelines, so that we know what to expect.

That being said, we are always prepared to support your students with whatever projects they bring to us.

Yes. We do not keep assignment prompts on file for students because keeping track of the guidelines is an important part of the writing process that we want to reinforce. However, we love to "read ahead" whenever we can, so that we are prepared before your students come in. This gives us the chance to discuss the assignment amongst the staff and come to you with any questions we might have.

If you are working on a new or unusual assignment idea, it is especially helpful for us to have a copy of the assignment ahead of time. You can email these to us (see above). You can also set up an appointment to chat with staff in the Writing Center about your assignment.

Resources and Links

In response to student’s needs and questions, we have created a range of informative handouts, listed below. Our handouts are designed to be screen reader-friendly and to meet accessibility standards. They are also displayed in a wall rack in the Writing Center. Please let us know if you would like handouts developed on additional topics.

 

More coming soon . . .

Becoming a Writing Assistant

The Writing Center schedules change every term to accommodate the classes and availability of the student writing assistants; hours typically range from 3 to 12 hours per week. Writing assistants work with students on writing assignments from any class and at any stage of the writing process. Most writing assistants not only work with students through our drop-in service and appointment system, but also respond with written feedback to students who use our OWL. Consideration for a writing assistant position is based on a variety of factors:

  • Because writing assistants often keep their positions for two to four years, openings are infrequent; hiring does not happen every year. When hiring occurs, it will be before the start of the fall term to allow for intensive training.
  • Students must be recommended by a faculty member; though this is often provided by an English instructor, other faculty may also recommend students.
  • Students must have a “B” or better in Writing 121.
  • Students must submit a sample of their writing.
  • Students must have excellent verbal and written communication skills.
  • Students participate in ongoing training and team meetings. Writing Assistants have been certified through the College Reading & Learning Association's International Tutor Training Program. What does this mean? Once writing assistants have reached Level I status, they have completed 25 hours of tutoring, 10 hours of training, and favorable evaluations by students and their supervisor; Level I training is mandatory for all staff, but most Writing Center staff have achieved LeveIIII status which entails 50 hours of tutoring, 20 hours of training, and favorable evaluations.

Benefits of Being a Writing Assistant

The skills you develop as a Writing Assistant will be personally enriching and transfer to any future career. Writing Assistants develop and practice excellent interpersonal communication, develop valuable critical thinking skills, increase their self-confidence, and improve their own academic performance by guiding other students through the learning process.