I am only one and a half semester into my experience as a consultant at the Writing Studio, and I have already lost count of how many times I have had the same frustrating conversation.
It looks a little something like this: A friend of mine is relaying to me how frustrated they are about an essay, explaining how confusing the prompt is, how difficult it is for them to know where to start, and how insecure they feel about their writing abilities. Being the avid Writing Studio consultant that I am, I immediately jump in with my carefully-rehearsed and overly-enthusiastic pitch: “Concordia has a great resource for students just like you, and it just so happens that I work there! The Writing Studio is a great place to … ” But before I can finish, my zeal is cut short by six dreaded words:
“I don’t need the Writing Studio.”
Since you’re here and I have your attention, please allow me to continue my pitch. The Writing Studio is a great place to receive feedback and support during your writing process, no matter how confident you are in your abilities. Even the great authors of the world, such as C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, consistently sought out feedback from each other as they wrote and revised their works. As college writers, are we so bold to assume that we are more self-sufficient than Mr. Lord of the Rings himself?
When I have these conversations with my friends, I understand exactly where their hesitations about the Writing Studio are coming from. For a while, I was that student myself. I felt confident in my writing and assumed that feedback was just an unnecessary extra step to add to my already busy academic life. In reality, the Writing Studio can be a beneficial resource to even the most experienced and confident writers.
No matter how great a paper is, there is always room for improvement. The same is true of writers. All writers should constantly seek out ways to improve upon their skills, to hone their craft. If musicians only picked up their instruments to perform, there is a pretty good chance they would be settling for “good” rather than reaching their full potential. Rather, dedicated musicians pick their instrument up day after day, practicing and fine tuning their skills consistently. Writing is the same way! No matter how confident you are in your performance, you will never be able to improve without practice and feedback.
So, the next time someone tells me they don’t need the Writing Studio, I’ll probably ask them why they think they’re better than Tolkien. Either that, or I’ll refer them to this blog post.
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Zoie Moore is a junior liberal studies major from Southern California. She plans to graduate with her teaching credential and go on to become an elementary school teacher. She is also the Resident Assistant for the Honors LLC and a part of the Concordia Speech Team, so you may have seen her around! You’ve probably also seen her at Eagles’ Landing drinking coffee and eating all of the tater tots. Writing has always been a passion of hers, and while she feels her strongest area is academic research papers, she is also experienced in creative writing, poetry, and speech writing (she can help with your public speaking class!) She has worked with MLA, CMS, and APA styles and would love to encourage you in your writing process, so come on in to the Writing Studio and say hello!