The Stone Writing Center has two major components:
The Virginia Stone Writer's Studio and the One-Hour Writing Labs.
- 1. Virginia Stone Writer's Studio
Located on the first floor of the Stone Writing Center, the Writer's Studio provides help to anyone, with or without an instructor referral, who seeks to improve their writing skills. Use of its services and resources are free of charge and are available to all Del Mar students.
The following are services and resources of particular interest to instructors:
- Instructors may send any student who needs help with writing to the Writer's Studio where they can sign up for tutorial appointments, use a computer to research and write a paper, or make up a missed lab.
- Instructors are also welcome to drop by the Writer's Studio to review materials available for duplication and for classroom use and to discover ways in which Writer's Studio resources can support their work in the classroom.
- In addition, each semester, files may be set up for special materials (handouts, books, etc.) that instructors want to leave on reserve for students to use in the Writer's Studio. Makeup work that does not require strict supervision may also be left in the files.
- Instructors may also refer to the Stone Writing Center's Web site (www.delmar.edu/engl/wrtctr) for additional resources including a collection of grammar, composition, and literature handouts.
- Furthermore, the SWC offers several e-learning opportunities for students, including online tutoring at tutor@delmar.edu; online interactive workshops; and links to all three levels of One-Hour Writing Lab curricula---all hosted on the SWC Web site.
- 2. One-Hour Writing Labs
One-Hour Writing Labs are "mini-classrooms" that expose students to writing and researching with computers. Specifically, the labs introduce current technology and complement English course objectives.
The following is of particular interest to instructors:
- Every English 305/306, 307, and 1301 student is required to attend one hour per week in one of four computer writing labs located in E-104, E-105, SW-202 and SW-206.
- In addition to these on-campus labs, there are several lab options that students may choose from: Online, Rapid Track, Hybrid and Dual Credit.
- The lab curriculum differs at each of the three levels of English and progresses from grammar to writing to research. Each semester, instructors are given copies of each of the lab curriculum and are invited to schedule a time to observe a lab.
- During the semester, lab students complete the equivalent of fourteen 50-minute lab sessions, plus an outside Lab Project, for a total of 15 hours. Any labs that are missed must be made up in the Writer's Studio.
- Instructors should urge students to regularly attend the One-Hour Writing Labs. During the semester, instructors receive periodic reports of their students' attendance, and, at the end of the semester, they receive a final attendance report. Instructors then deduct five points (one-half letter grade) for each lab absence from the final grade in the course.
Emphasizing the writing process - not the written product - as the key to successful composition, the Stone Writing Center is committed to making better writers, as well as better writing. For more information, instructors are encouraged to call 698-1364, drop by the Center, or visit the Web site (www.delmar.edu/engl/wrtctr).