Writing Center at Concordia University

Welcome to the Concordia University Writing Center!

The Writing Center is located on the third floor of the George R. White Library & Learning Center, Room 316. We are staffed with knowledgeable and friendly tutors eager to help you improve your writing skills. Tutors will provide support and insight throughout the writing process. They will also guide you to the proper style guides and citation makers online.

Concordia Writing Center Mission Statement

The Writing Center is a forum for resources, advice, and conversation about writing for the students, faculty, and staff at Concordia University.

Concordia Writing Center Goals

  • Empower writers to improve their individual writing projects
  • Provide information and resources about specific writing concerns
  • Provide pedagogical support for faculty who use writing in their classrooms

Writing Center tutors can help you

  • Brainstorm ideas for a paper topic
  • Outline a plan for research and writing
  • Organize your ideas into a rough draft
  • Improve a draft of your paper by offering strategies for revision
  • Answer questions about formatting, editing, and proofreading a paper.

Note: The CU Writing Center is not an editing service. Tutors provide support and knowledge in a collaborative fashion throughout the writing process. They will also guide you to the proper style-guide resources for the MLA, APA, and Chicago formats.

Writing Center Hours

The Writing Center is located on the third floor of the George R. White Library & Learning Center, Room 316. We are staffed with knowledgeable and friendly tutors eager to help you improve your writing skills. Tutors will provide support and insight throughout the writing process. They will also guide you to the proper style guides and citation makers online.

  • Sunday – Thursday: 3:00 — 5:00pm and 7:00 - 9:00pm

Walk-ins are welcome at the Writing Center.  For an appointment, please email the Writing Center at writingcenter@cu-portland.edu. Please note that at least 24-hour notice is required for appointments. Appointments can be made only for the days and times listed above.

Online Tutoring

The Writing Center is adding a new feature that some of you may wish to try.

In the past, if you wanted assistance in writing your papers, you needed to show up for face-to-face tutoring in the George R. White Library and Learning Center. Now, in addition to the face-to-face session in the Library, we have added an online solution, so you may obtain assistance from off-campus. Online services are provided during the same hours as the on-campus writing center: Sunday-Thursday 3-5 pm and 7-9 pm.

** You will need to have access to a computer with internet connectivity while you are being tutored. It is recommended, but not required that you have access to a phone.

If you would like you may test this online system:

  1. E-mail a request for an appointment, including preferred time and date, with a copy of your paper attached in Word format to writingcenter@cu-portland.edu. If you would like to meet virtually with a tutor immediately, please indicate that in your appointment request, but please note that you may have to wait in line.
  2. When your request is received, the Tutor Coordinator will confirm your appointment or respond with an alternate time slot for your session.
  3. You will then be asked to open the link provided in the confirmation email and to call #503-280-8133 or the toll-free 1-855-493-6296 extension #1.
  4. Begin collaborating with the tutor!

Because we have no way of anticipating the volume of calls we may receive during this pilot period, we ask for your patience as we iron out the wrinkles of the system.

Thanks for your understanding and cooperation.

Style Guides

  • OWL at Purdue - This is a comprehensive guide to writing that has many helpful links. It has up-to-date style guides for APA, Chicago, and MLA formats. It offers advice on grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, paragraph structure, and many other resources.
  • Dianahacker.com - This is another comprehensive site that is particularly helpful for questions concerning grammar.

Suggested Readings

Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron
Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg
Wild Mind by Natalie Goldberg
On Writing by Stephen King
The Art of Fiction by John Gardner

If you are interested in becoming a Writing Center consultant, please email Dr. Kimberly Knutsen at kknutsen@cu-portland.edu. Working in the Writing Center as a consultant allows you the opportunity to help your peers improve their writing skills and improve your own in the process. Plus, being a Writing Center consultant is a paid position — we value your skills and expertise.