The Writing Center

Faculty FAQs

Where is the Writing Center located? When is it open?

The Writing Center is located in Wilson Hall, room 121. Feel free to stop by and see our facility or ask any questions that you may have about the Writing Center. During the Fall and Spring semesters, our hours are as follows:

Sunday: 1:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Monday - Thursday: 8:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Friday: 8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Saturday: Closed

What type of help can my students expect to receive from the Writing Center?

The Writing Center is a service provided by the University of Alabama to help students improve various aspects of their writing. Because of our commitment to serve students across all disciplines, the Writing Center can help with issues such as brainstorming, organization, grammar, and revising.

I'm a faculty member interested in having my students utilize the Writing Center, but I don't know many specifics about the services the Writing Center provides. Can someone from the Writing Center visit my classroom and provide information to my students?

Absolutely! We'd love to visit your classroom, provide information, and answer any questions that students might have about the Writing Center. For more information on scheduling a classroom visit, contact the Writing Center Director, Dr. Luke Niiler, at lpniiler@ua.edu.

Can students just show up at the Writing Center, or do they need to make an appointment?

The Writing Center does accommodate walk-in clients, although we would prefer that students make an appointment. Making an appointment ensures that a tutor will be available to help the student. Appointments for the Writing Center can be made via our online scheduling system.

Does the Writing Center provide online tutoring?

Yes, the Writing Center provides online tutoring for those currently enrolled in distance-learning sections. Please contact Luke Niiler (lpniiler@ua.edu) for additional information on how students can electronically submit a paper for review.

What kind of workshops does the Writing Center provide to help my students with their writing?

The Writing Center provides discipline-specific writing workshops on the following topics: avoiding plagiarism; e-mail etiquette ('netiquette'); basic business writing (memos, letters, e-mails); research writing; editing skills; grammar; formatting scientific lab reports; APA and MLA formatting; and much more. Contact Dr. Luke Niiler, Director, at lpniiler@ua.edu for further information or to schedule a workshop.

I'm requiring a few of my students to attend the Writing Center in order to work on their writing. Is there any way I can know for sure whether or not these students are visiting the Writing Center?

Yes, our staff can verify whether a student has visited the Writing Center. Each client that visits the Writing Center is required to sign in for our records. Furthermore, at the end of each session, the tutor will complete a post-tutorial form that documents the content of the session - with one copy being saved for our records and another copy being given to the student as proof of his or her attendance.

I'm currently teaching a highly specialized science class in which a couple of my students are really struggling with their writing. I want to recommend the Writing Center to my students; however, I'm worried that the Writing Center tutors won't understand the difficult subject matter and therefore won't be able to help my students with their papers. What should I do?

At the Writing Center, we realize that there are some areas of study that are so specialized that only a select few can truly understand them, and only then after years of intense learning. However, while our staff might be unable to provide content-based suggestions in these situations, we can still provide concrete suggestions of ways to improve the paper along both stylistic and grammatical lines.