A new writing lab at USI provides specialized tutoring for English majors and international students.

Associate Professor of English Sunny Hawkins oversees Eagles Write, located in the Orr Center room 3074, and said she knows firsthand from her experience at Southern Illinois University (SIUC) that assistance from fellow writers is beneficial.

As a graduate student at SIUC, she used the same lab.

“The perception is only bad writers come to the writing center, but it’s really for writers who know having another set of eyes on their work can only help improve a paper,” Hawkins said.

The new writing lab welcomes walk-in students, but encourages scheduling appointments in order to prevent overcrowding which can be common around finals.

“You don’t have to have a paper written. Just bring an idea for an assignment, and sit down with a tutor who can help with planning out ideas and understanding what the prompt is asking,” Hawkins said.

The Writers’ Room – another remediation center run by Academic Skills – still assists students with English composition.

The biggest distinction between the labs is Eagles Write prioritizes English as a second language (ESL) instruction by reserving weekly slots with specific tutors for entire semesters at a time.

“I don’t really see us as being in competition, but we have some overlap in the student population. I think they (the Writers’ Room) are just a little broader,” Hawkins said. “Academic Skills deals with all kinds of tutoring – math, science, history and writing is still a part of that. We’re focused entirely on language and writing.”

Several factors sparked the creation of the new lab: Faculty in the English department desired an in-house remediation center, tutors were previously trained outside the guidance of their future supervisors and after the breakdown of the ESL program, international students needed a place providing tutelage specific to their needs, she said.

“It’s not just for English majors either. We have students from business to biology, and many from education,” Hawkins said. “Because tutoring is all about one-to-one learning, it’s a really great way to learn about being a teacher.”

Sophomore English major  Crystal Thompson performs some clerical work for Eagles Write in addition to remediating four or five students per week.

“I think the writing center is a really great place for good writers, bad writers and those in between to come and feel comfortable,” Thompson said. “We tell everybody not to worry because you can’t make a mistake one of us hasn’t already made.”

Eagles Write assisted 83 separate students in more than 200 visits during fall 2013.

Crystal has noticed many pupils who were struggling with basic skills last semester improved so much that they have returned with questions advanced enough to challenge the tutors.

“I think the tutors are learning just as much as the students are learning,” she said. “When there is something we don’t know, we look it up with you. I’ve learned a lot since I’ve been working there. I’m a much better writer now.”

Students interested in becoming a tutor should contact Hawkins. Upon completion of training, tutors can clock up to 10 hours a week as a paid student worker.

Eagles Write operates Monday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Friday from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. Sessions begin as close to the top of each hour as possible and last about 45 minutes.

Visit www.eagleswrite.com for the lab’s mission statement, tutor lineup and contact information.