Home > Current Students > Student Services > Learning Center > Writing Lab

The Writing Lab Welcomes You

The idea of Writing Labs dates back to the late 1940's when, believe it or not, a professor at Harvard, dismayed at the poor writing his students were presenting, suggested hiring students who wrote well as writing tutors. Not until the early 1970's, however, were Writing Labs seriously considered, due in part to the open admission policy established by community colleges and the increased need for an educated work force. Over the last thirty years Writing Labs have become a fixture on almost all campuses. The discipline has its own heroes, national organization and literature expounding diverse and conflicting methods, theories, and philosophies. One of the aspects most Writing Lab professionals agree upon, however, is an ethical code, that which guides their actions. At the FMCC Writing Lab these ethics boil down to a list of "What We Will Do" and "What We Will Not Do."

• Provide one-on-one writing instruction
• Discuss new assignments with students, helping clarify and organize ideas
• Read student drafts, offering suggestions for revision
• Help students expand and develop a paper
• Assist students with matters of style and correctness
• Explain specific rules of usage
• Answer questions about research and documentation of sources
• Help students gain new strategies for writing and increased confidence in themselves as writers

• Edit or proofread student papers
• Guarantee a particular grade or even suggest what grade is likely on an assignment
• Assist students with take-home exams or final portfolios

As stated in the Mission Statement for the entire Learning Center, the Writing Lab's central concern is helping students become independent learners (writers).

With these "Do's and Don'ts" governing our actions, we strive to fulfill this mission.