Writer's block? Deadline looming? The Writing Skills Improvement Program is here to help
Writing Skills Improvement Program Director Andrea Hernandez Holm has extensive experience as a teacher, tutor, editor, researcher and writing consultant in academia and industry. Holm has worked with student, faculty and community writers from around the world for over 15 years.
Logan Burtch-Buus/University Communications
Writing can be a difficult endeavor for anyone, from facing the daunting curtain of a blank page at the start of the process to picking through punctuation while editing the final draft.
For more than 40 years, the Writing Skills Improvement Program, a service of the College of Humanities, has been helping writers of every skill level and language background gain confidence and knowledge of all forms of writing, from formal academic and scholarly language to more plain language writing styles.
Writing Skills Improvement Program consultants have extensive experience editing most types of writing. The specialize in line editing (i.e., grammar, punctuation, overall clarity) and have experience, or at least familiarity, with most reference styles, including American Psychological Association, Associated Press and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
Logan Burtch-Buus/University Communications
While many writing centers, including the Think Tank Writing Center based out of the Student Success District, use a "peer tutor" model to support specific student populations, the WSIP's team of writing specialists also supports U of A faculty and staff, as well as the wider community.
"Most writing centers don't provide remedial support," said WSIP Director Andrea Hernandez Holm. "It isn't about telling someone, 'You're a weak writer. You're failing.' It's simply saying, 'We offer support other help to strengthen your skills.' So, if you struggle as a writer, or you excel as a writer, we believe you still have room to grow."
All WSIP services are free to University of Arizona students. For staff, faculty and the public, fees are kept to the bare minimum.
"We want people to be able to get the support they need for an affordable price," Hernandez Holm said.
In that spirit, twice each year WSIP offers free workshops to the public. Most workshops run an hour.
Day to day, WSIP staffers consult on a wide variety of documents and projects across genres and disciplines, be they academic (i.e., coursework, theses, essay and dissertations), administrative (i.e., tenure and promotion statements) or any type of application, such as for a scholarship, internship, job or grant. Consultations can be scheduled for in-person or by videoconference.
"Consultations and coaching are an opportunity to meet with us for a 60-minute session to discuss either a project they are already writing or one they need to write," Hernandez Holm said. "Our philosophy is the writer is the expert on their own writing. We are there to facilitate their awareness about what's happening in their writing and to give them access to information they might lack."
During the academic year, WSIP offers free drop-in tutoring for U of A undergraduate and graduate students – no appointment necessary – providing focused feedback on shorter samples of writing. Sessions run 15-20 minutes, depending on availability. Longer tutoring sessions can be scheduled online.
"We sometimes engage in what we call 'triage tutoring' on those occasions when a paper is due that night, or a written examination is coming up the next morning," Hernandez Holm said.
WSIP writing specialists are professional teachers, tutors and editors with extensive experience editing most types of writing. They specialize in line editing – grammar, punctuation, overall clarity – as well as reference styles (e.g., MLA or Chicago) and may offer minor insights, suggestions and questions about a project's or document's content, structure and organization.
The Writing Skills Improvement Program, led by Director Andrea Hernandez Holm, offers expert consultation and tutoring through the entire writing process, including review, editing and feedback on scholarly documents (i.e., essays, articles, chapters, books, applications, grants, etc.) facilitation of peer feedback groups, writing workshops, an online writing room, and assessments of interview, job and academic presentations.
Logan Burtch-Buus/University Communications
"We won't help draft text," Hernandez Holm said. "The editing process begins when the writer has done everything they need to do and they're ready to hand it off to someone else. At that point we'll do a deep dive and get it as ready as possible for submission."
Hernandez Holm, a published scholar, essayist and poet herself, has worked with student, faculty and community writers from around the world for more than 15 years. In that time, she's seen several trends emerge, none more significant than the growing use of artificial intelligence, which she said has changed the way people connect with writing.
"AI has made things so convenient in ways that we didn't see when we embraced the convenience of features such as spell-check," she said. "It's increased at least tenfold and it's moving at such a speed that we can barely keep up with it. All of that combined has left those of us who work with writers and think about writing acutely aware that there's an unevenness emerging – where we recognize those foundational elements and needs remain. Those never go away. People still struggle with finding their voice, the quality of their writing. But now there's this force: 'AI can help me fix it.' And, for better or worse, we haven't seen how it will play out yet in the long run."
Hernandez Holm encourages clients to understand that they have a story to tell. It can be research or academic in nature, but it's still a story. She also counsels patience and being open to taking risks.
"Often I'll tell writers, 'You can't expect that today you're suddenly an expert at something you've never tried before,'" she said. "This is especially true for students. I'll work with some who feel very defeated because they're struggling to write their dissertation. And I'll ask them, 'Have you ever written a dissertation before? Why would you think you know how to do it?' That applies to all of us. You need training before you start something new."
To learn more about the services offered by the Writing Skills Improvement Program, or to sign up for an appointment or workshop, email writingskills@arizona.edu or call 520-621-5849.