By Abigail Ofous
Trinity Times Correspondent

A wave of anxiousness consumed Trinity Washington University student Jamilehy Ramos when she began writing her final research paper for English 107. 

Ramos just stared at the blank computer screen, wholly unable to craft an opening paragraph. 

Completely distracted, her thoughts wandered, unable to even recall her initial ideas. 

Ramos knew writing is one of the most important skills college students need to succeed after graduation, and yet, she was wrestling with the very first word.

Knowing she needed help, Ramos swallowed her pride and sought out assistance at Trinity’s Writing Center. 

This Trinity sophomore’s story is not an outlier. 

Many college students across the country struggle to express themselves in writing, a key skill needed for the mountain of papers professors in institutions of higher education require to assess a firm understanding of their courses. 

It’s essential that students develop solid writing abilities and universities typically provide resources to help that along.

According to a study by the National Writing Project, students who use a writing center show significant improvement in their schoolwork, as well as overall confidence. 

For young women like Ramos, who face barriers as first-generation students of higher learning in their families, the resources offered at Trinity’s Writing Center are not just useful, but essential. 

The Writing Center provides not only assistance with writing, but also a safe and supportive space. 

“I used to struggle with writing assignments,” said Ramos, who is majoring in Business. “But now I feel more confident, and I get better grades.” 

Trinity’s Writing Center offers free tutoring, workshops, and online resources for any writing task. 

Ramos credits her improvement in grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure to the center’s guidance. 

She was also able to find websites and resources, and even access exclusive online scholarly databases like ProQuest and JSTOR.  

“Whenever I’m writing an essay on my own now,” Ramos said, “I tend to recall the lessons my writing tutors have mentioned to me.”  

Her professors have noticed the improvements too.

The positive feedback from instructors has further bolstered Ramos’s confidence and in-class performance. 

“I was so proud and happy,” Ramos said. “I felt more comfortable and stronger academically.” 

Sarah-Marie Taylor has seen the progress of students from the other side of the table. 

Taylor – a Trinity senior majoring in English Literature – has been tutoring at the Writing Center since the start of the 2023-2024 academic year.  

“I didn’t really know much about the Writing Center beforehand,” she said, “but I got an email from a professor who asked me if I wanted to be a writing tutor.” 

Tutors bring their own personal style to the Writing Center, and Taylor is no exception. 

“I think my main technique is just having them sit with me and read their essay out loud,” she said, adding this helps students spot errors first on their own, which strengthens the learning experience. 

Housed in the Academic Services Center in Trinity’s Sister Helen Sheehan Library, the Writing Center is run by Librarian Trisha Smith, who also helps students find and use information for their various writing assignments. 

It’s not an easy feat, Smith said, to “synthesize that information and then take everything you just learned and put it in your own words.”  

In addition to this one-on-one advisement, the library offers many resources, she said, from workshops to article retrieval to matching specialized tutors to students in need. 

A poll conducted on the impact of higher education at James Madison University in 2022 showed that, when it comes to writing, the average level of professional preparation among undergraduate students was just 7.4 out of 10. 

Put another way, colleges and universities are barely earning a C grade in effectively preparing students for the workplace. 

Additionally, a survey conducted by Primary Research Group revealed that 54% of students felt the need for additional writing support from their higher education institutions.  

The statistics at Trinity support these findings, with about 40% to 60% of the university’s students visiting the Writing Center during their time at the university, Smith said.  

Though staffing shortages have affected the effectiveness of the Writing Center’s outreach, Smith continues to urge students to keep returning for help because the outcome on their schoolwork is obvious and beneficial. 

While Taylor is a tutor herself, she still goes to the Writing Center to polish her assignments and get advice. 

It is a great resource for any student, she told Trinity Times, adding that “everyone who takes the opportunity to come to the Writing Center can improve their writing.”That’s an assertion shared by Ramos, who has become somewhat of an evangelist for the Writing Center, letting her classmates know that if they need help with any kind of writing, there is always a tutor onsite to help.