Writing Center

The Writing Center offers students and members of the public personalized assistance at all stages of the writing process and in all writing tasks and disciplines. Through its onsite and online tutors and services at the University’s Nashua and the Athens campuses, the Writing Center supports the development of confident, effective communicators and critical readers.

How the Writing Center can help you

Through the Center’s tutoring and editing services you can find help on:

• Understanding assignments and expectations for academic and business writing
• Conducting research using the University’s library collections and other online resources
• Planning for writing your paper, organizing your text, developing thesis statements, paragraphing
• Evaluating sources, integrating secondary material into a text, providing citations, and writing an annotated bibliography
• Writing effective resumes, emails, reports, web content, and other kinds of business communication

And particularly for graduate students:

• Preparing conference presentations
• Developing and writing capstone projects and dissertations

What kind of help is available

The Writing Center provides a range of services at both campuses to help you with your writing assignments: onsite tutoring, online tutoring (videoconferencing), asynchronous editing help via the University’s eLearning platform (Blackboard), and writing workshops and courses.

Online Tutoring (Nashua and Athens)

You can arrange for a live one-on-one or (for a shared lesson) a group session with a writing tutor. In a typical 45-minute videoconference, you and your tutor will discuss the task or prompt, review the draft, and discuss ways to improve it with effective writing strategies. Your tutor will focus on teaching you strategies for composing, revising, editing, and proofreading.

How to arrange a session: Request an appointment at least 24 hours in advance by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Asynchronous Tutoring via Blackboard (Nashua and Athens)

You can also arrange for tutoring assistance over the course of the term (asynchronously). Your tutor and you work on your paper via the Blackboard e-learning platform without needing to meet in person or virtually.

How to get help: Schedule your session(s) by emailing the Writing Center at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Onsite assistance (Nashua and Athens)

The Writing Center also provides on-site help on writing assignments on appointment for students at both campuses. In a typical face-to-face session, you and your tutor will discuss the task or prompt, review the draft, and discuss ways to improve it with effective writing strategies. Note that you can also combine online tutoring with onsite visits.

How to arrange a session:

• Athens: Request an appointment at least 24 hours in advance by emailing the This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Come to the Writing Center with your paper assignment and with rough drafts, if you have any. Ask questions during your session and keep an open mind when your tutor makes suggestions.
• Nashua: Use your university email account and request an appointment at least 24 hours in advance by emailing Rodger Martin at his university address.

Be advised that depending on demand and the availability of tutors, there may be a delay in accommodating your request.

The Writing Center on the Athens campus

Courses and writing workshops: Nashua campus

The Writing Center in Nashua offers short, non-credit seminars such as public speaker workshops to provide students who desire it, support in crafting their public speaking skills.

If you are an international MBA student and your native language is not English, you will be asked to complete an in-person written essay so that we can assess your writing skills. Depending on the result of your assessment, you may be asked to enroll in the 3-credit Graduate Business Writing course (GBW100) to build and improve those writing skills essential for your success as a graduate student.

Courses and writing workshops: Athens campus

Workshops for Fall 2023 at Athens cover a range of topics including plagiarism and documentation, writing effective emails, and writing effective abstracts. For more information and a schedule of workshops, consult the Athens campus website.

Writing Center officers

The Director of the Writing Center is Dr. Vasiliki Kourbani, who also serves as the Director of the B.A. in English Language and Literature program and the undergraduate writing program. Vassiliki was instrumental in creating the University’s Writing Center and has served as its director since it was founded in 2006. She is currently co-leading a four-year longitudinal study for the University that will measure the progress that students make in their writing skills throughout their studies.

Nashua services are overseen by Rodger Martin, a teacher, journalist, and published poet and translator. Rodger brings extensive writing and teaching skills to the campus, having taught in both the United States and China and having served for many years as an editor of The Worcester Review.

Dr. Valentini Andreoula coordinates the Writer Center at the Athens campus. A CRLA-certified writing tutor, Valentini has been teaching in the University's undergraduate General Education program, particularly courses such as academic writing, public speaking, and critical thinking.