Vol. 1  Issue 3
November 2003

A Newsletter Published by the SIUE Writing Center

News From the Coordinator                                                            By Chad Verbais
This month I would like to briefly discuss some of the Writing Center's services so that everyone understands what it is we do here.  I realize that people have different views of what the Writing Center does and, perhaps, what it should do.            Read More

Ms. Grammars
By Joanne Brew-Fisher, Asst. Coordinator

In Pygmalion, the playwright George Bernard Shaw grappled with the same linguistic issue educators struggle with today, namely the whys and wherefores of teaching standard English grammar.  Ever the egalitarian seeking class justice and social change, Shaw knew the transformative power of language.  Read More

Communication Starts Here
By Angela Nelson

"What is the purpose of writing?"  I begin every semester by posing this question to my writing classes.  The answers vary, but the overall assumption is the same: Communication is an important skill in college and beyond.  To these students, communication consists only of essays, research papers and reports, and I am the ringmaster training them to jump through the hoops of academic writing.             Read More

Practical Research…On Practically Anything
By Nancy Kelly-Martin

Electronic communication has become an increasingly popular technique in college writing programs (e.g., emailing, WebCT postings, and distance project interfacing).  Therefore, it might be appropriate to reflect on the influence of gender in structured and unstructured writing assignments and projects. 
Read More

Ice-Breaking Exercise for Writing Class
By Jim Murphy

Somewhere back in the mid-80s when I was living in St. Louis' Central West End, I wandered into Left Bank Books and discovered a book by a relatively new writer named Thomas Coraghessan Boyle.  For some reason, this book, which was on the remainder table in the basement of the bookstore, caught my eye.  Read More

Center Characters

Brief (and sometimes funny) bios of people involved with work here in the Writing Center.  This month find out more about Beth Bensen-Barber, Ashley Brady, and Erin Barber.  Read More