There are many aspects to writing essays, like grammar, sentence fluency and organization, so it’s easy to miss a few things. Salt Lake Community College’s Student Writing and Reading Center, or SWRC, is available to help.
The SWRC has four offices at the Taylorsville Redwood, South City, Jordan and Herriman campuses. Hours vary between the campuses, but the centers are typically open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
“The SWRC is a valuable student resource because it provides a space for collaboration and communication that can be applied throughout a student’s academic journey,” said Heather Graham, outreach coordinator for the center. “SWRC tutors can guide students through improving their writing and learning the literacies of academic assignments.”
However, the SWRC doesn’t just help students who are struggling with technical aspects, Graham added. It also offers another voice to the conversation process that writing can be.
“When we are writing, we are adding to part of a discussion, generally without other voices in the mix,” Graham said. “The center can provide another voice, [engaging] in further conversation around a piece of writing that may help a writer clarify or expand their work in ways they couldn’t have before.”
Nursing major Jace Neal is one student who has utilized the center. He said the SWRC has been valuable in helping him to complete essays and send emails, especially those regarding nursing school applications. Neal said he would highly recommend the center to friends and colleagues.
“The tutors who work there are great and super helpful,” Neal said. “They make sure you understand the work and are up to date on deadlines.”
One of the tutors at the center’s Taylorsville Redwood office is Saturn Davenport, who is also a student at the University of Utah. Davenport said no one is perfect, and she encourages anyone who needs help with writing to visit the SWRC.
“For the students that come in here regularly, I do end up seeing remarkable improvements from where they started at the beginning of the semester,” Davenport said.
“Even with the English majors,” she added, “who think they know everything there is to know about English. … Everybody makes mistakes. We are here to help both students who are English speakers by nature and students who don’t speak English as a first language.”
To learn more about the SWRC or to make an appointment, visit slcc.edu/swc.
