Writing Room
The mission of the Writing Room is to provide an open teaching and learning environment for the collaborative discussion of writing so that students may become more aware and independent writers. Writing consultants come from a range of disciplines and are formally trained to provide feedback during all phases of the writing process. The Writing Room is staffed by students. Located in the Humanities and Social Sciences Building (H&SS 112), the Writing Room is available to students who want to drop-in but appointments are recommended. Our Frequently Asked Questions brochure provides more information.
Maymester, Summer I & Summer II Hours of Operation
Monday-Thursday
10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
(closed Friday)
Fall and Spring Hours of Operation
Monday-Thursday
9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Friday
9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Handouts
Active and Passive
Verbs
Apostrophes
Argumentative
Essays
Articles:
Indefinite vs. Definite
Identifying Your
Audience
Using the USCA
Writing Room
Commas
Commonly
Confused Words
Comparatives
and Superlatives
Essay Test
Taking Tips
Integrating
Quotations
Paraphrasing
Punctuating
Quotations
Summarizing
Transition
Words
Writing Style Links
USCA Library Style Guides
APA Guide [PDF]
APA Annotated
Bibliography [PDF]
APA Style tips
Chicago Guide [PDF]
The Chicago Manual of Style Q&A
MLA Quick Reference [PDF]
MLA Annotated
Bibliography [PDF]
MLA Style Frequently Asked Questions
Manifesto
We define collaboration as cooperating with one another. In the Writing Room, we strive to maintain a collaborative environment. This manifests itself with the consultant asking questions and offering feedback-not making changes or decisions for you- in order to help you learn.
Examples of Collaboration
* Explaining general grammar and punctuation rules
* Identifying mistakes and helping you correct the mistakes
* Pointing out confusing parts of the paper
Collusion, however is cooperating in fraud. Fraudulent cooperation occurs when the consultant moves from guiding your learning, to doing the work and making decisions for you. You and the consultant must avoid collusion, not only is it a form of academic dishonesty, which violates the USCA Honor Code, but also because it interferes with learning.
Examples of Collusion
* Making corrections for you
* Proofreading/editing
* Doing the assignment for you
Research shows that after thirty minutes in a collaborative process, the collaboration begins to break down and the process begins to shift towards collusion. In order to avoid this, we limit our sessions to thirty minutes.
Our ultimate goal is to improve your understanding and application of the writing process and not simply to fix the paper at hand. While you may be here seeking help with a particular assignment, we cannot guarantee, nor do we try to provide you with an error free paper after visiting the Writing Room.
Junior Writing Portfolio
The Junior Writing Portfolio (JWP) is a graduation requirement that is a collection of three papers from your college career accompanied by a reflective essay. Before submitting your portfolio you may want to visit the Writing Room for a consultation. When you do submit your portfolio bring it to the Writing Room in H&SS 112. Please print out a list of the courses you have taken from VIP to help you correctly fill out the submission form.
JWP Forms
Submission Form
JWP Frequently
Asked Questions
Complete
Portfolio Packet
Assessment
Form
Junior Writing Portfolio: Upcoming
Due Dates
* June 4th (Wednesday) for Summer 2008
* September 3rd (Wednesday) for Fall 2008
Honor Pledge & Avoiding Plagiarism
As a commitment to maintain Academic Integrity and accept academic responsibility, the following statement should appear signed and dated by the student on all major examinations and assignments:
On my honor as a University of South Carolina Aiken student, I have completed my work according to the principle of Academic Integrity. I have neither given nor received any unauthorized aid on this assignment/examination.
See our Academic Integrity page for tools and resources help you understand what plagiarism is and how to avoid it by citing your sources correctly.
Workshops
Workshops are offered by the English Department. Check for specific dates.
Writing Awards
Oswald Freshman Writing Award
Through the generosity of James L. Oswald of Aiken, the Oswald Freshman
Writing Award is presented annually to a first-year student at USCA who
demonstrates excellence in expository writing. The award will be a
$500.00 scholarship. Submission guidelines are available in
H&SS 204 and the Writing Room (H&SS 112). Entries
should be submitted to Mr. Karl Fornes (H&SS B-3).
-
Submission Guidelines
- The Oswald Freshman Writing Award will be given annually on
a competitive basis to a first-year English composition student whose
work demonstrates excellence in expository prose.
- The competition is open to all full-time, currently
enrolled students who have accrued less than 30 collegiate credit
hours.
- Any piece of expository writing completed for academic
credit in English 101 or English 102 may be submitted for
consideration.
- The signature of the instructor will serve as validation.
- Essays may be revised or expanded by the student before
submission. (The original paper should be attached.)
- There is no restriction as to the subject.
- No student may submit more than two essays.
- The jurying panel reserves the right to withhold the award
if it decides that there were not enough essays.
- Essays submitted for the Kaplan Writing Award will not be
considered for the Oswald Freshman Writing Award.
- Essays should be submitted to Karl Fornes (H&SS B-3) or the Writing Room H&SS 112) with a cover sheet including the student's name, the name and number of the course for which the paper was completed, and the professor's validating signature. The student's name should not appear anywhere else in the paper.
The Oswald Freshman Writing Award is presented annually to a first-year student who demonstrates excellence in expository writing. The award will be a $500.00 scholarship.
THE OSWALD CREATIVE WRITING AWARD
Through the generosity of James L. Oswald of Aiken, the Oswald Creative
Writing Award is offered annually by the USCA English Department to a
currently enrolled full-time student at USCA whose work demonstrates
superior achievement in creative writing. This is a $500 prize.
Submission guidelines are available in H&SS 204 and the Writing
Room (H&SS 112). Entries should be submitted to Dr. Stephen
Gardner (H&SS A-1).
-
Submission Guidelines
- Each student may submit multiple entries in any one or more
genres; however, work should represent the student's best effort.
- Fiction: Maximum 25 pages. May be one story or chapter of a
longer work.
- Poetry: Maximum 150 lines. May be one poem or a sequence of
poems.
- Creative Nonfiction: Maximum 25 pages.
- Drama: Minimum one act. Maximum 25 pages. (For radio,
stage, or screen)
- Each entry must be accompanied by the appropriate cover
sheet (available in the English Department Office).
- Submission Guidelines and Cover Sheets are available in the English Department Office and in the Writing Room.
Eligible genres are fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction and drama.
The Virginia Kaplan Writing Award
Through the generosity of the late Virginia Kaplan, the Kaplan Writing
Award is presented annually to an undergraduate who exhibits excellence
in expository writing. The award is valued at approximately $500.00.
Submission guidelines are available in H&SS 204 and the Writing
Room (H&SS 112). Entries should be submitted to Mrs. Ilona Law
(H&SS A-9).
-
Competition Guidelines
- The competition is open to all full-time, currently enrolled students at USCA.
- The previous year's winner is not eligible for the competition in this current year.
- Any piece of expository writing done in the current academic year in response to a regular class assignment may be submitted to the competition.
- The signature of the professor of that class will serve as validation.
- Essays may be revised or expanded by the student before submission.
- They will be evaluated on the basis of depth of thought, clarity of expression, and command of language.
- There is no restriction as to subject.
- The minimum length requirement is five, full, double-spaced, word-processed pages.
- No student may submit more than two (2) essays.
- Essays should be submitted to Prof. Ilona Law (A-9, H&SS) with a cover sheet giving the student's name, level (freshman, etc.), the name and number of the course in which the paper was originally submitted, and the professor's validating signature. The student's name should not appear anywhere else in the paper.
Useful Links
To visit the USC Aiken English Department, click here.
USC Aiken's Gregg-Graniteville Library:
http://library.usca.edu/Main/HomePage
The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing
http://nutsandbolts.washcoll.edu/
Purdue University's Online Writing Lab:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/general/index.html
The Modern Language Association web site:
http://www.mla.org/
The American Psychological Association Online:
http://www.apastyle.org/elecref.html
The Chicago Manual of Style:
http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/
The Library of Congress' Learning Page: Tips on citing non-print
sources like films, recordings, pictures, and maps.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpedu/start/cite/index.html
Purdue University also offers a general guide to writing research
papers, with advice for doing research on the internet, evaluating
sources, paraphrasing, and writing an annotated bibliography:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/index.html#writing
Eastern Washington University provides this useful tutorial on citing
sources correctly:
http://support.library.ewu.edu/reference/tutorial/flash/citation.html
Dictionary Search
http://www.onelook.com/
