Finals Are Approaching!

Hello, everyone! I am just writing to remind you that Finals Week is rapidly approaching, and for many of you, that most likely means papers. If you feel stuck at any point during the writing process, feel free to stop into the Writing Center so that we can help you out!

Finals Week Schedule | Tri-Cities Prep

We can help with papers for:

  • Any major/subject area
  • Any format — APA, Chicago, MLA, etc.
  • All parts of the process!
    • Drafting
    • Editing
    • Revising
    • Final draft proofing

Don’t hesitate to stop by! You can schedule an appointment or just walk in at any point! As a reminder, we are located in Room 106 on the first floor of the McNairy Library, right across from the Starbucks.

Writing Center Grand Opening - Millersville News

To schedule an appointment in advance:

  1. Navigate to the official Millersville University Writing Center page at: https://www.millersville.edu/enwl/writing-center/
  2. From there, you will indicate what you specifically need help with at: https://millersville.starfishsolutions.com/starfish-ops/instructor/serviceCatalog.html?tenantId=9440#/service/4203/schedule
  3. Next, you will choose a tutor, time, and appointment form that works for you! We have the following types of appointments available to you:
    • In-person
    • Zoom
    • Online (via MU email)

We strongly encourage our students to make an appointment in-person or on zoom, as these are much more effective than 100% online communication! Please take this into consideration when scheduling an appointment with us.

As a final reminder, the Spring 2025 Writing Center Hours are:

    • Monday-Thursday 12:00-8:00 pm
    • Friday 12:00-4:00 pm

Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you’ll consider dropping by the Writing Center to ease some stress about final papers as the Spring 2025 semester comes to a close! We wish all the best for everyone as the semester ends, hopefully with a strong finish.

~ Devin

Marauder Egg-Splorers Treasure Hunt!

Crack into the Egg Hunt hosted by the McNairy Library Learning Forum and the Writing Center here at Millersville University! Return them to their “nest” in these locations for some egg-cellent prizes!

When: April 14th-April 19th, 2025

Where: McNairy Library — Ask for Help Desk, The Writing Center (across from Starbucks!)

What: You’ll have to bring the egg you find to hatch your prize!

Stecoah Easter Egg Hunt - Stecoah Valley Center

Hippity hoppity, the hunt is on, but beware–the campus mascot, Skully, has been spotted with the Marauder’s Map, so he knows the secret locations of the eggs. It’s up to you to find them first! Happy hunting!!!

~Devin

Be Aware of the “Single Story”

“The Danger of a Single Story” ~Adichie:

The Danger of a Single Story – C N Adichie | Foluke's African Skies

  • Limited representation → appearance, cultures, food/drink preferences
    • Children = impressionable and vulnerable to stories 
  • Availability in literature 
    • Foreign books (majority) vs African books
  • Stereotypes/Defining qualities → incomplete 
    • Patronizing pity 
      • Ex. African → poverty 
      • Ex. Mexicans → illegally crossing border
    • “Authentically African” 
    • “What if my roommate knew about…?” 
      • Thriving individuals from Nigeria 
  • Power – the ability to make one story the definitive story of another person
    • America’s culture and economic power → many stories of America
    • “Normalized political fear”  
  • Consequences of the single story: 
    • Robs people of dignity
    • Emphasizes differences, not similarities

I hope you enjoyed my post about the importance of telling the full story, not just its parts. This was fully inspired by Adichie’s speech known as “The Danger of a Single Story.” This exists in the form of a TED Talk as well, so feel free to check it out! I will leave the link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9Ihs241zeg

Thank you for reading!

~ Devin

Stay Tuned For Easter Fun!

Hello, everyone! I just wanted to put it out there that the Writing Center and McNairy Library will soon work in collaboration to host Easter egg hunting events! Eggs will be hidden in various spots around campus! Find an egg and bring it to either the Writing Center (writing) or the Ask A Librarian desk (research), depending on which type of challenge you’ve received!

As an advance reminder, here are the hours and locations for each:

Ask a Librarian: 

Located to next to the main entrance desk!

Monday-Thursday: 9 am-8 pm

Friday: 9 am-12 pm

The Writing Center:

Room 106 – Across from the Starbucks!

Monday-Thursday: 12 pm-8 pm

Friday: 12 pm-4 pm

Most Beautiful Easter Images - Vexels Blog

Get ready to find those eggs, because you’ll receive some great prizes after you turn them in! (Trust me, I know what they are, and you won’t want to miss out!) To name just a few, water bottles, highlighters, squishies, and more! Just remember…each person gets only one egg, so choose wisely!

Good luck, and now that I’ve given you an advance warning, you should be even more prepared and quick to find your egg! 🙂

~ Devin

Suggestions for the Revision Process!

Hi, all! Today, I want to provide an overview of some suggestions for revising your writing. I know that the revision process can feel tedious and unrelenting at times, but I want to provide a starting point!

These tips work especially well for:

  • Argumentative essays
  • Critical Reviews
  • Fictional story
  • Literary Analyses
  • Narratives
  • Persuasive essays
  • And more!
  1. To begin revising, write several different leads for your introduction paragraph. As a writer, it is important and beneficial to make sure you have the reader hooked with an exemplary beginning! The introduction is the strength of a writing piece, and it sets the stage for what the story will be about. 
  2. Blend the beginning of your piece into the next section, making sure it flows smoothly. For example, in a narrative, you can blend into your exposition by revealing a memory of the past  connecting it to the present and possible future.
  3. When revising the middle, focus on the language to accompanies details. This can include figurative language (similies, metaphors, personification, etc), diction (word choice), and syntax (sentence structure).
  4. Incorporate a variety of techniques to give the reader a better understanding of your point and its significance! To exemplify this statement, in a fictional story, including sensory details can portray a character more accurately to the reader.
  5. As you revise the ending/conclusion, make sure to reflect on your thoughts and pull everything together in a way that makes sense. Re-state all of your main ideas!
  6. I always use this trick when writing anything: if you can imagine a mic drop after reading your last sentence, then you have strong ending! Take pride in your work and finish it feeling like you’ve done your best.

Thank you for reading! That’s all for today, and I hope this helps you navigate revising in a more enjoyable way 🙂

~ Devin

The Joys of Simple Poetry

Hello, everyone! Now, I know that poetry is not always the most enjoyable subject for a lot of people. It can be difficult to comprehend at times, and being tasked with writing a poem can feel really stressful! I know felt this way when I was first introduced to poetry. However, I want to make it clear that poetry can be fun!

From years of writing poetry, I have learned that the style of a poem is completely up to the author. You can follow a certain format, like iambic pentameter (like William Shakespeare’s plays and sonnets), a traditional ABAB rhyme scheme, or variations of your own, such as ABCBAD etc!

I would like to share one of the first poems I ever remember writing in school. In my sixth grade reading class, we were tasked with writing a poem on the spot. I felt completely lost and out of my comfort zone, but I realized that I could make it simple and do what I wanted with this!

With that said, I give you my poem “Silent Ripples.”

Silent Ripples

By: Devin Sparwasser 

The water swirls round’ at my touch, 

Spinning and spiraling as it must

As clear as a crystal, that it may be,

But how does this water truly possess reality? 

It’s a symbol of nature, holds its own silent place,

It cares for our world, it retains special grace.

The water grants beauty in its own special way,

Silent, supple ripples, splashing away. 

 

That’s all for today! I hope you enjoyed reading one of my first poems, and I hope that you feel inspired to step out of your comfort zone as a writer and experience the freedom and flexibility of a genre like poetry 🙂

~Devin

Embracing Imperfection in Writing

Often, writing serves as a good representation of the experiences and opportunities individuals have had as writers, in addition to any academic achievements that have been made up to a certain point in time. From my own experiences in courses like WRIT 311 (Advanced Composition), Explorations in World Literature, and general English Composition, I have learned to recognize that room for improvement always exists, and consistent perfection remains unrealistic.

I would like to provide some tips for embracing your abilities as a human being and writer:

  • By relaxing into your work without feeling so much pressure to excel, you will have a better chance to discover or rediscover genuine enjoyment in writing
  • Find your unique voice and style and incorporate them into your writing! Do not over-fixate on making it sound exactly right in your first draft
  • It is possible to maintain the proper tone throughout a writing piece AND tailor the writing process to meet your needs and interests at the same time!
  • During the peer review process, be respectful and open to both giving and receiving criticism, but know that it remains up to you whether or not you apply that feedback to your writing

These are just a few tips/suggestions for embracing imperfection as you write, and I hope you find this helpful! Thank you for reading 🙂

~ Devin Sparwasser

So Thou Desire to Write in Early Modern English…

Dost thou find Shakespeare confusing? Have you ever wanted to write like a fancy aristocrat in the 16th century? Are you getting ready for an Elizabethan costume party? If so, this is the post for you. Let’s start off with a quick background.

What is Early Modern English, and is it the same as Old English?

Many find the two interchangeable, but are they really? In actuality, they’re much different! Beowulf is written in Old English, and while translators have done a lot of work for us to read the heroic poems, Old English looks vastly different from what we speak today. Here’s the phrase “long time no see” in Old English (provided by Omniglot.com).

“Lange iċ ne ġeseah þē.”

You can tell that Old English is vastly different from what we’re used to. Now, let’s look at the same phrase in Early Modern English (provided by a translation site)

“Long time nay see.”

This is much easier to understand. Famously written by William Shakespeare in his plethora of shows, Early Modern English shares many characteristics with the Modern English we use, albeit a bit more wordy than we’re used to. Some words used today were even invented by Shakespeare, but that’s another blog post for another time.

What are the differences between Early Old English and Modern English?

One difference between the two is the use of pronouns. Early Modern English used you, yours, they, and you all, but had alternate words for each to be used when referring to a person of higher or lower status. The pronouns that we’re used to refer to someone in higher power than the speaker, while thee, thou, thine, and ye all refer to someone with equal status or lower status than you.

Another difference the two have is with present tense verbs. In Modern English, present tense verbs are given the suffix -s. Take the verbs lives, for example. In Early Modern English, the suffix for the same verb would be –eth, making he liveth. The same goes for other verbs, but there’s one caveat. When using a personal pronoun with the verb like you or thou, the ending -est would be used instead, making you livest/thou livest.

Did people in the past speak in Early Old English?

Yes, although it wasn’t used by the people who you’d expect. In a lot of popular culture, the aristocracy in 16th century England are shown speaking with exclusively thees and thous, when really it was almost the exact opposite. Since they had more frequent access to the printing press and physical copies of books, they were able to become more educated, and spoke more similarly to how we do nowadays. Shakespeare’s writings reflect this, with his commissioned works being void of the informal personal pronouns that Early Old English had. He more regularly wrote in a way that commonfolk would talk, allowing for ease of learning for his actors, as well as for the audience that he would garner, which would be filled with (you guessed it) commonfolk.

What now?

This is a fairly surface level dive into Early Modern English, and there’s so much more to learn. If you’d believe it, knowing the suffixes and meanings behind different verbs allow you to effectively train yourself to understand Shakespeare, and while iambic pentameter is its own beast, I would seriously recommend checking out the Oxford English Dictionary’s overview can be found here. It’s helpful for anyone who is willing to take a deep dive into some early linguistics! Whatever you do with Early Modern English, I hope this guide has given you a pretty clear baseline on what to start with.

 

The Spring Semester Has Sprung!

Hello, all! Welcome to the Spring 2025 Semester at Millersville University!

My name is Devin Sparwasser, and I am a new tutor and blog writer at the Writing Center! I hope you all had a restful Winter Break and are starting off the semester with some academic ambition.

I want to make you all aware of a couple campus resources you can utilize to help you succeed this semester, specifically those pertaining to reading and writing!

1. The Writing Center Adjusted Hours

Monday-Thursday: 12:00-8:00 pm

Friday: 12:00-4:00 pm

Schedule an appointment with one of our tutors through Starfish! We prefer in-person or Zoom appointments, but online appointments through email are welcome as long as you provide the information we need. This includes your Name, M#, Class Name, Professor, and what type of assistance you are looking for.

Walk-ins are always welcome, too! Never hesitate to stop by 🙂

2. Kurzweil Online Software

Kurzweil is a learning software provided to all students through Learning Services. It can be downloaded onto your computer, or you can use the online version! If reading, taking notes, and/or making outlines is challenging for you, Kurzweil can help. The software includes features like translations in at least 12 different languages, multiple voices to choose from that can read to you, organizer templates to map out writing assignments, vocabulary definitions, and highlighter breakdowns of specific concepts!

If you have any further questions about using Kurzweil, feel free to contact Learning Services!

Kurzweil 3000

Kurzweil 3000 is a web-based learning solution built on the technology of Kurzweil Education, Inc., a comprehensive reading, writing and learning solution for reading disabilities.

3. Learning Services Workshops

In Lyle Hall, Learning Services offers a variety of workshops that target specific academic skills throughout the semester. These topics include critical thinking, note-taking, study skills, time management and organization, strategies to boost memory, and understanding students with disabilities/disorders, among others. I have attached a list of the Spring 2025 workshops being offered below for anyone interested!

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Thank you all for reading! I hope you have a wonderful semester, and remember that these resources are always accessible to you if and when you need them.

Thanksgiving Break

Hello all you Turkeys,

Thanksgiving is known for family festivities like gorging yourself on dry turkey and getting into heated political debates with distant relatives. But what it is not known for is the ample amount of time open for writing. There are many topics to write about, you can prepare a speech about climate change, you can reflect on your first semester, you can write thank you cards to all your lovely relatives, and most importantly you can leave positive comments on the writing center blog. Wishing you all a happy last week of classes!

P.S. With finals coming up, our hours will be changing, but we will still be around to help you with any final papers.