The nation’s largest collaborative campus. 12 schools, 30 degrees, 1 location.
We support our students.
RLA Room 2229
WRC HOURS
Tuesdays 2:30 pm - 7:00 pm
The WRC is always available via email and all requests will be responded to within two buisiness days.
The Writing and Research Center was created with a generous grant from the Buhl Foundation in 2007. Our center was created to offer both writing and research assistance to our students at no cost. We hold the ideal that education is about synergy. By collaborating with others, great things will happen. WRC associates offer that collaboration with guidance and advice on producing the most effective writing for your classes at the RLA. We pay particular attention to the needs of returning students who constitute the majority of those who study at our campus. Rather than remedial tutoring for students who are struggling with their assignments, we give you feedback and suggestions regardless of your academic level or your individual skill with written English. We have advised graduate students and professionals as well as those in the first years of their programs; anyone can benefit from additional review and revision. Our associates are experienced writers, researchers, and teachers, so bringing your work to the WRC has the benefit of instructor review of your work before you hand it in for a grade.
Services
The WRC offers a variety of services and resources at no charge to RLA students, such as:
- advice for writing papers, completing projects, even composing and fine-tuning résumés
- assistance in researching an assigned topic, or deciding on a topic of your own
- guidance with citation of sources according to MLA, APA or Chicago rules
- feedback from a trained writer on format, presentation, style, and consistency
- flexible contact options: Visit in person during office hours, make an appointment, or -- like most of our students -- simply email a paper for comments and suggestions. You don’t have to come in to get our help.
- FREE PRINTING: Print a fresh copy of your paper or project to be examined by an experienced writing teacher who is there just to help you.
Access to the RLA’s Virtual Library: Connect to your school’s powerful online research services, and receive help navigating them.
Staff
The WRC staff has experience with undergraduates and graduate students writing and researching various subjects in many disciplines. In addition to this experience, our associates possess the technological and procedural skills necessary for success in the contemporary internet-connected university.
Jessica Heathcote, WRC Coordinator
Jessica is an adjunct instructor at CCAC, where she teaches developmental and freshman composition. She has taught at Slippery Rock University’s Summer Creative and Performing Arts Academy for several years. She holds a BA in English with a certificate in Film Studies from the University of Pittsburgh and an MA in Literary and Cultural Studies from Carnegie Mellon University.
How you can use this website
On this site we’ve complied lists of helpful links and brief guides to help you with research and writing, as well as information about other programs we are currently developing.
- Grammar: These are some of our favorite sites for keeping track of the complicated and confusing rules of written English.
- Style: Find help writing the clearest sentences you can in these amazing websites.
Grammar and Style Guides
- Purdue OWL (Online Writing Lab) Grammar Handouts
- Rutgers Professor Jack Lynch's Guide to Grammar and Style
- The Original Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr.
- Grammar Resources at the University of Chicago
Citation: Whether your professor wants you to use MLA, APA, or Chicago citation styles, you must cite your sources somehow; these guides will help you do so correctly and easily.
Citation Guides
Technology
Our computers are equipped with several research and editing tools including:
- Microsoft Office: Word, Excel, PowerPoint
- Adobe Creative Suite: Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign
- WhiteSmoke: editing and proofreading software
- SciProof: documentation and research software for medicine, the applied sciences, and business
- EndNote: citation software that guides users through citation styles for MLA, APA, and more
The Writing and Research Center also maintains a small collection of print books and resources for helping with writing projects, including MLA, APA and Chicago manuals, grammar guides, literary resource tools, dictionaries and style manuals.