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Writing Center / ESL

Writing help and ESL support for all UNCSA students, staff, and faculty.

Writing and ESL Help

Writing Center Updates!                                                         

The Writing Center is open for the Spring Semester as of January 17, 2023. Hours will be as follows:
Sunday: 5 pm - 9 pm (Nora Streed; Zoom only)
Monday: 10 am - 4 pm (Nora Streed; Zoom only)

Tuesday: 9 am - 3 pm (Hadis Ghaedi; in person or Zoom)
Wednesday: 9 am - 4 pm (Hadis Ghaedi; in person or Zoom)
Thursday: 10 am - 4 pm (Nora Streed; Zoom only)
Friday: 9 am - 4 pm (Hadis Ghaedi; in person or Zoom)


As always, our schedule is subject to change. Please email us if you can't find a time that suits you and we can try to find another time.  

Co-Director Hadis Ghaedi will be available on campus and can meet with you in person or via Zoom.  Nora Streed will continue to be available via Zoom only.

Make appointments or check availability here: https://uncsa.libcal.com/appointments/writingcenter-esl

All posted hours are subject to change without notice; check on the appointment calendar to book times and ensure available appointments.

For further information about the Writing Center at UNCSA, or to request alternative meeting times, send us an email at writingcenter@uncsa.edu.

English as a Second Language (ESL)

University of North Carolina School of the Arts provides tutoring in English as a Second Language (ESL) for admitted students who want or need support. In addition to language instruction, we also offer help and support for any international students experiencing culture shock or struggling to adjust to life on campus, in North Carolina, and/or in the US. There are currently no ESL courses offered. Make appointments via the Writing Center https://uncsa.libcal.com/appointments/writingcenter-esl.

For further information about the ESL program at UNCSA, send an email to us at ESL@uncsa.edu.

 

Inclusive Language Resources

The PDF documents below contain some quick reference guides regarding inclusive language. Feel free to print and distribute them if you find them helpful. If you want to discuss inclusive language in your writing or other situations, please feel free to make an appointment to talk to Nora Streed. We're not here to police your writing for political correctness, but rather to help you use language to get your message across in the most accessible, inclusive, and respectful way possible.

Writing Resources

Download PDFs with helpful information on the following topics:

ESL Resources

Helpful Links

  • UNC Chapel Hill's Writing Center's website has excellent, relevant, and helpful guides.
  • George Orwell's classic 1946 essay Politics and the English Language offers some simple strategies for making your own writing stronger, clearer, and more useful to your readers. 
  • Purdue OWL is an excellent resource for MLA formatting guidelines and contains a great deal of high quality reference material.
  • Grammar Rock videos are fabulous learning tools for basic grammar information. No, really. You might not be able to get the songs out of your head, but that's kind of the idea.
  • Merriam-Webster's online dictionary is easy to use and contains many helpful articles & videos about word use issues as well as a fun "Word of the Day" app and of course a fully functional online dictionary and thesaurus.
  • The Story of English. This PBS documentary from 1986 is available here on a YouTube playlist broken up into many 10-minute segments. The companion book is listed below. It's a very good overview of the history of the English language and its proliferation throughout the world. Helps sort out some of the confusion about why English is the way it is.
  • Free Language Learning Apps!  All UNCSA students, staff, and faculty have access via NCLive to TRANSPARENT Language Learning Apps. Go at your own pace and learn one (or more!) of over 100 languages in the app, from Afrikaans to Dakota to Latvian to Quechua to Welsh and Zulu! Also includes English learning apps for non-native English speakers.

Recommended Reading and Reference Books