To me, writing is like an escape. As I went through long lists of majors and academic areas of study my senior year of high school, I tend to sit back and reflect on why I loved writing so much. Why this passion was so much different than the other things I loved to do.

Writing is the foundation of academic study, and I am not just saying these things as an English major. I have found that all of my friends, no matter the major, are writing papers for class.

So, how is it that not many students know about or utilize the help of the EIU Writing Center?

There was one instance where I had a friend who was struggling with a writing assignment for a class she was taking. So, I recommended that she go to the writing center and have them help her out. She looked at me and went, “what is the writing center?”

It’s almost like a hidden gem here at Eastern. 

Professors put the writing center as a resource in their syllabi. I even see posters for the writing center on the cork boards in residence halls. But it is such a wonder that student do not use the service as much as they should.

Is it out of nervousness? Out of fear that the paper won’t be good enough? Who knows what the problem may be.

But, how can we as students here at Eastern help to promote the writing center?

Personally, I have decided to start implementing promotion for the writing center on my tours. I am an admissions ambassador on campus. I find that when I am walking past Coleman to get to the south quad, I get a lot of great reactions when I bring up the writing center and all it has to offer.

Not many other universities or even high schools have this kind of writing help for their students, so it should be something that every student takes advantage of.

I believe that there could be improvements made to the advertising done for the writing center. For example, maybe there could be a promotional video put on the EIU social media pages to help.

One reason why I believe that Eastern students don’t utilize the writing center is because they don’t want to feel that awkwardness or nervousness that comes with asking for help.

It’s very scary having to ask people that you don’t really know for help, especially when they’re critiquing your work. But the writing center is there to help you. Your tuition is paying to keep the writing center free, so why not use the resource to the best of your ability?

Being able to advocate for yourself and realize when you need help from someone other than yourself is an essential skill whether this is your first year at Eastern or your third.

Don’t be too hard on yourself! It is only the beginning of the semester and we have so much more time to improve and get the hang of things. Good luck to everyone this semester! 

Kyla Moton is a junior English major. They can be reached at 581-2812 or klmoton@eiu.edu.