Located inside the Harold B. Lee Library at Brigham Young University, the Research and Writing Center is a resource for students looking for a second opinion on their papers.
Students can talk with a research and writing consultant about how to get started on their essays. Consultants also help brainstorm ideas and create revisions.
“You could come in with no idea of what you’re writing at all, no idea on what the assignment is doing," Merlin Blanchard, a writing consultant at the Research and Writing Center, said. "You can come in and ask, 'Hey, could explain this assignment to me.'”
Evan Rasmussen, a BYU student, came to the center for help with his critical analysis essay about the movie "Interstellar" for his Writing 311 class.
“I always appreciate a second opinion of people that are a lot smarter than me, to get my paper better, so I can get a better grade on it,” Rasmussen said.
Rasmussen sat down with Maggie Crane, one of the center's writing consultants. They went over the relationship between summary and analysis together. They also discussed how to incorporate elements of the film and how those elements contributed to the movie.
The appointment mostly consisted of Rasmussen walking Crane through his thought process and sharing how he felt about the analysis, Crane said.
“Just being able to see the passion on students' faces — that’s my favorite thing,” Crane said.
Rasmussen's takeaway from his visit to the Writing Center is that there are numerous resources on campus to help him improve his writing, he said.
He also found it helpful to get an outside perspective from the consultants, he said.
“They’re able to offer second opinions on things that I can improve on, things that maybe my teacher is looking for,” Rasmussen said.
Students can visit the center's website or office to schedule an in-person or online appointment.