The Write Times. Greetings from the Writing Center! SAINT FRANCIS UNIVERSITY WRITING CENTER. Inside this Issue:

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1 SAINT FRANCIS UNIVERSITY WRITING CENTER Volume 4, Issue 3 July 24, 2015 Greetings from the Writing Center! Inside this Issue: Greetings from the Writing Center Upcoming Event: WCE Prepatory Workshops CES Event: Wendell Mayo Coming to Campus Two Major Writing Contests Gunard B. Carlson Contest Results Summer Reading We hope everyone is enjoying the warmer summer months and taking time to relax, travel, and visit with friends and loved ones. For all incoming firstyear students and transfer students who will be joining us in August, we welcome you to Saint Francis University and look forward to working with you this fall. For those of you who have not visited the writing center, we would like to tell you about our services. The writing center, located on the second floor of the Library and Learning Commons, is staffed by more than a dozen experienced undergraduate tutors qualified and willing to assist students with various types of writing assignments. Common issues that tutors help students with include the following: Getting started on an assignment Creating an outline or concept map Free-writing Crafting a thesis statement Drafting parts of an assignment Finding quality sources using ProQuest and other library databases Annotating scholarly sources Citing source material according to MLA, APA, or Chicago style guidelines Adjusting wording for clarity and tone Proofreading sections of an assignment Many students who use our services also seek help with non-course-related writing projects, such as graduate program application statements, newspaper articles, employment application letters, and résumés. Recent SFU graduate and former writing center tutor Samantha Dilling greets center visitors. Although we recommend students visit Career Services for assistance with cover letter and résumé design, our tutors can and do assist students with the content, style, grammar, and mechanics of such documents. The writing center will reopen on Wednesday, September 2nd, Our fall schedule will be as follows: Monday, 1:00 7:00 p.m.

2 Page 2 Greetings! (Continued from Page 1) Tuesday, 1:00 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, 1:00 7:00 p.m. Thursday, 1:00 7:00 p.m. Friday, 1:00 5:00 p.m. We also will offer additional study table hours at the Maurice Stokes Center for student-athletes. Our services are absolutely free, and walk-ins are welcome during our operating hours, although preference will be given to students who schedule appointments at least 24 hours in advance. To schedule an appointment or learn more about our services, please contact the writing center s director, Dr. Brennan Thomas, at writingcenter@francis.edu. Please note: The writing center offers online tutoring only to graduate students who live more than sixty miles from campus. All undergraduates and graduates taking classes at Saint Francis University's main campus must visit the center in person for assistance with their writing. Thank you again. See you in September! Upcoming Event: Writing Competency Exam Prep Workshops One of the writing center's most popular services is the writing competency examination (WCE) preparatory workshop series. Over fifty students attended one of these WCE workshops last year, and every attendee who completed a post-workshop survey praised the workshop's utility. The writing center will offer a three-day workshop series in September for all juniorand senior-level students registered to take the WCE (listed as EXAM 301) this fall. Wednesday, September 16th 7:00 8:00 p.m. Thursday, September 17th 7:00 8:00 p.m. Friday, September 18th 5:00 6:00 p.m. During each one-hour workshop, attendees will review the WCE scoring rubric, discuss successful test-taking strategies, and draft partial responses to sample exam prompts. All workshops will be held in the writing center on the second floor of the Library and Learning Commons. Snacks and beverages will be provided. Please contact Writing Center Director Dr. Brennan Thomas at writingcenter@francis.edu to register for one of these workshops. Registration begins Monday, September 7th. Two workshop participants grab snacks between writing exercises.

3 Page 3 A Community Enrichment Series (CES) Event: Meet Author Wendell Mayo (September 23) Each fall and spring, our campus hosts dozens of community enrichment series (CES) events. First-year students are required to attend at least six of these events in the fall and another six in the spring to fulfill course requirements for CORE 103 and CORE 104. However, all students are welcome to attend as many CES events as they wish, especially events appealing to their personal and professional interests. This September, Saint Francis University s Literature & Languages Department is inviting Wendell Mayo to campus to speak with students about the craft of writing and read excerpts from his works. A professor of creative writing at Bowling Green State University, Wendell Mayo is also a prolific writer and has published numerous stories and received several prestigious writing awards, including the Subito Press Award for Innovative Fiction. Among his publications are the short story collections Centaur of the North, In Lithuanian Wood, and The Cucumber King of Kėdainiai. Wendell Mayo's public reading will be held Wednesday, September 23nd, from 7 to 8 p.m. in the Southern Alleghenies Art Museum; refreshments will be served. Students interested in writing and publishing their own fiction are especially encouraged to attend. Two Major Writing Contests All current and incoming undergraduates are eligible to enter the university's two major writing contests this fall. Information about each contest follows. Delta Epsilon Sigma: Starts August 1, 2015 Delta Epsilon Sigma sponsors an annual writing contest open to any undergraduate (member or nonmember) in an institution which has a chapter of the society. Manuscripts may be submitted in any of four genres: (1) Poetry, (2) Short Fiction, (3) Nonfiction Prose, and (4) Scholarly Research. The winner in each of the four genres will receive a $500 prize. A second prize of $250 is also frequently awarded. Prose manuscripts should be typed, double-spaced, and approximately 1,500 to 5,000 words in

4 Volume 4, Issue 3 Page 4 Writing Contests (Continued from Page 3) length. The guidelines for Scholarly Research essays should follow accepted guidelines within the discipline with appropriate citation method (APA, MLA or other relevant form). Please include with your writing submission a completed cover sheet form and contact information form. Dr. Rosemary Bertocci at rbertocci@francis.edu to request these forms. The deadline for submissions is November 30, your submission to Dr. Rosemary Bertocci (rbertocci@francis.edu) on or before this date. Final judging and announcement of the results will take place by May 1, Winners will be notified through the office of the local chapter moderator. For more information on the contest, please contact Dr. Rosemary Bertocci. The Gunard B. Carlson Contest: Starts October 1, 2015 The Gunard Berry Carlson Creative Writing and Visual Arts Contest, which is sponsored by the School of Arts and Letters, is one of the university's most popular undergraduate contests. Each year, dozens of students submit poetry, photographs, short stories, creative nonfiction, sketches, paintings, and essays for the judges to review. Selected winners and honorable mentions are awarded monetary prizes and published in the university's literary and visual arts magazine, Tapestries ( The overall winner in the visual arts category is featured as the magazine's cover image. This year's contest will begin officially on October 1, 2015, at which point students may begin submitting their writing and visual artwork to the contest's coordinator, Dr. Brennan Thomas. Students may (to bthomas@francis.edu) or deliver in person (to Room 307 Scotus Hall) their entries and are permitted to submit as many entries as they wish before the contest's deadline, February 26, Contest winners and honorable mentions will be announced at the 2016 President's Awards Convocation in April. Contest Rules Eligibility: All SFU undergraduates Start Date: October 1, 2015 End Date: February 26, 2015 Writing Submissions: Students may submit writing in these four genres: poetry (minimum of five poems per entry), creative nonfiction (e.g., travel writing, memoirs), fiction (short stories), and essays. Written entries may not exceed 3,000 words. Visual Submissions: Students may submit visual artwork of any medium, including painting (oil or watercolor), photography, sketch, and sculpture. Artworks may be delivered in person or submitted electronically. Entry Limit: Students may submit as many entries as they wish. Prizes The judges will determine four winners in the writing category and one winner in the visual category. Honorable mentions in each category will be selected as well. Writing Prizes First Prize: $350 and $350 tuition credit Second Prize: $200 and $200 tuition credit Third Prize: $150 and $150 tuition credit Fourth Prize: $100 and $100 tuition credit Honorable Mentions: $25 Visual Art Prizes First Prize: $100 Honorable Mentions $25 For more information on the contest's guidelines, please contact Dr. Brennan Thomas at bthomas@francis.edu.

5 Page 5 The Gunard Berry Carlson Creative Writing and Visual Arts Contest Results This past year's Gunard B. Carlson Contest was one of our most successful ever, with 73 written entries and 202 visual art entries. The contest judges faced the daunting task of choosing the very best artwork and writing from our university's essayists and painters, fiction writers and photographers. After weeks of deliberation, the judges finally selected four overall winners in the writing category and one overall winner in the visual arts category. Nine written entries and 21 visual art entries were also awarded honorable mentions. The contest results, which were formally announced at the President's Awards Convocation on April 28, 2015, are listed below: Writing Category 1 st Place Samantha Dilling, for her essay "Making the Invisible Visible" 2 nd Place Nicholas Astle, for his essay "The Passion of the Superman" 3 rd Place Tara Fritz, for her short story "Where These Boots Have Been" 4 th Place Kimberly Homolak, for her multi-genre essay "Travel Addiction" Honorable Mentions Mark Frank, for his essay "Evil In Our Name" Tara Fritz, for her short story "Our Own Wars" Jordan Gorsuch, for his short story "All That Is Left" Julie Horner, for her essays "Life Goes On" and "What's for Dinner?" Luke Maffei, for his short story "Rain" Dallas Mosier, for her essay "It Can Wait Until Tomorrow" April Taylor, for her essays "A Special Kind of Friendship" and "The Savage's Inevitable Demise in Huxley's Brave New World" Visual Category 1 st Place Kaylyn Hines for her photograph Stairway to Heaven Stairway to Heaven by Kaylyn Hines won the top prize in the contest s visual category.

6 Page 6 Contest Results (Continued from Page 5) Honorable Mentions Chelsie Adams for Full Bloom Hannah Cole for Lone Sunflower and Rusty Bridge Kimberly Elter for A Different Perspective Christopher Evans for Sunset Reflections and Yellow in Focus Tara Fritz for Timekeepers and Desolation Emily Heckman for The Traveler Mary Holtz for Peek-a-Boo Deer Julie Horner for Mud, Sweat, and Tears Breanna Kochinsky for Criminal, Crossroad, Locked Away, and Beautifully Broken Taylor McKnight for Solo Harmony, The Calm before the Storm, and Nostalgia Lindsey Miller for Hand in Hand, We Are Part of One Race The Human Race and Spring Dew Nicholas Pyo for Sunrise All winning entries and honorable mentions will be published in the volume of Tapestries, to be released this fall. Please join us in congratulating this year's contest winners. We also thank our judging panel, who thoroughly reviewed the contest s 278 entries, and all students who submitted their writing and artwork this year. The judges were thoroughly impressed with your creativity and talent. Summer Reading Recommendations from the Tutors If you want to build your vocabulary, strengthen your critical thinking and writing skills, and clear your mind of worries, then read a book or two. Reading is one of life s greatest pleasures. More so than watching television or playing video games, reading provides a satisfying respite from life s troubles. As one tutor aptly explained, When I m reading a book like The Hunger Games, I m not thinking about an argument I had with my roommate or how homesick I am. I m just thinking about the main characters, like Katniss, and wondering, Are they going to make it? Are they going to survive the Hunger Games? Here are some of the tutors recommended books for fun summer reading. Please enjoy! Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson East of Eden by John Steinbeck The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins Tara Road by Maeve Binchy All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline