Emerson Pieper, staff writer

Located on the second floor of Lindell Library, the Writing Center offers free academic support services for the Augsburg community. This service is intended to help students strengthen their writing and editing skills, whether they are working on starting a first draft or fine-tuning a final. It is a one-on-one tutoring service where students are paired with a staff member to develop their paper, brainstorm and edit their papers.

Other than correcting grammar and giving critique on your paper, tutors at the Writing Center work alongside students to guide them through the writing process. The writer explains the assignment, shares their concerns, and clarifies what they want to focus on. From there, the tutor and writer work together to shape ideas and strengthen the draft. The goal is to help the writer understand their own process and build long-term skills to help with writing their next paper.

Students are encouraged to visit at any stage of writing, either with rough notes and a loose idea or a nearly finished draft that just needs touch-ups. On the spectrum of paper completion, The Writing Center supports those at the beginning and end of the process, as well as any place in between. Tutors can help students generate ideas, develop stronger paragraphs, construct more effective sentences, and practice editing strategies. They also address questions about style, formatting, research integration, and audience awareness.

For students experiencing writer’s block, instead of staring at a blank page, writers can talk through their ideas with staff and translate them onto paper. For multilingual students, tutors offer guidance on clarity and language use while respecting the writer’s voice. Every session is designed to be interactive and actively engaging rather than to receive passive feedback.

In recent times, they have faced issues with student engagement and low appointment numbers. Augsburg student Klaus Solko felt that it is “unfortunate that not that many people use the Writing Center. […] It is such a great resource that not many schools have.”

“The Writing Center is open to helping anyone with writing. From job applications to dissertations, we’ll help the best we can,” states Leo Dennis, a student staff member at the writing center.

In addition to tutoring, the Writing Center provides grammar worksheets and informational handouts that students can use outside of appointments. These resources support independent learning and allow writers to review concepts at their own pace. A key aspect of the Writing Center is that the writer sets the agenda. Tutors ask students what they would like to focus on before offering input and don’t diminish the students’ thinking. This approach ensures that each session aligns with the student’s goals and reinforces ownership of the work. The paper remains the student’s responsibility, and the tutor acts as a guide rather than an editor.

The Writing Center aims to develop confident writers across campus. By focusing on process rather than product, they help students grow beyond a single assignment. Whether working on a first-year essay or a senior capstone project, students can rely on the Writing Center as a supportive academic resource. It serves as a welcoming space where writers can refine their skills and gain confidence in their ability to communicate effectively.