NSU Broken Arrow Writing Center

NSU Broken Arrow Writing Center The Writing Center has trained tutors available to help you with your writing needs.

The dedicated and experienced staff provide free, one-on-one help with writing. From drafting and revising a paper to grammar and documentation styles, we can help!

Applications are open for summer and fall tutors!Here at the Writing Center, we are looking for tutors with strong writi...
04/28/2026

Applications are open for summer and fall tutors!

Here at the Writing Center, we are looking for tutors with strong writing skills who are passionate about helping students succeed. Applicants must have a 3.0 GPA or higher in English-related courses and must have a junior classification or above.

To apply, students will submit a writing sample and a faculty recommendation. The deadline for summer applications is May 13th. For more information and to submit your application, navigate to “Student Jobs” on NSU’s homepage and apply through Handshake.

We look forward to receiving your applications!

Hang in there!Finals week is almost here! How are you feeling? As you prepare for finals, make sure you’re getting enoug...
04/27/2026

Hang in there!

Finals week is almost here! How are you feeling? As you prepare for finals, make sure you’re getting enough to eat and taking breaks to rest. It might feel counterproductive as exams are closing in, but resting your mind and refueling your body will work wonders in the long run.

Good luck! If you need any last-minute assistance on your paper, make an appointment at the Writing Center using the link nsuok.mywconline.com.

What does it mean when someone says that writing is recursive?“Recursive” means when steps in a process are repeated ove...
04/22/2026

What does it mean when someone says that writing is recursive?

“Recursive” means when steps in a process are repeated over and over. Some people approach writing as being a clean set of steps from start to finish, thinking that they must outline, draft, and revise one at a time, never moving on to the next part of the process until they are completely done with the previous part.

However, writing is a flexible process. Sometimes, it works best to start drafting, then create an outline, then continue drafting. Sometimes, you are almost done with revisions when you realize you need to write some more to bring your argument together. Create a writing process that works for you, and don’t be afraid to let it change from project to project.

If you’re having trouble knowing where to start, feel free to drop by the Writing Center! We have in-person, Zoom, and asynchronous appointments, and we’re here to serve all your writing needs. Make an appointment at nsuok.mywconline.com.

You’ve probably heard people talk about academic vs. casual voice in writing. We are often told that we need to use a fo...
04/13/2026

You’ve probably heard people talk about academic vs. casual voice in writing. We are often told that we need to use a formal, academic tone in our essays, but what exactly does that mean? Here are a few things that separate academic voice from casual voice.

📌 Use of contractions

Contractions are never used in academic writing unless they are part of a direct quote. While there are certainly forms of writing where contractions are appropriate, avoid using them in an academic paper.

📌 Use of first-person pronouns

This guideline is a little less clear-cut than the previous one. There are times in academic writing when “I” and “we” are acceptable to use. If you are telling a personal anecdote, first-person pronouns are often considered appropriate. However, if you find yourself writing “I think” or “I believe,” cut those parts out and let your statements stand on their own (unless the assignment specifically requires personal opinion).

📌 Use of second-person pronouns

The lines aren’t as blurred with this rule. Using “you” when writing an academic paper instantly makes you sound colloquial. But it’s sometimes hard to avoid, isn’t it? Here’s a tip: whenever you feel like saying “you,” try saying “one” instead. So instead of writing “you might think,” write “one might think.” Avoiding second-person pronouns is a quick way to elevate the formality of your writing.

If you want more assistance revising the tone of your writing, stop by the Writing Center and we will be happy to help you! Make an appointment at nsuok.mywconline.com.

The built-in grammar checkers in writing software such as Microsoft Word or Google Docs can be useful tools. Here are so...
04/08/2026

The built-in grammar checkers in writing software such as Microsoft Word or Google Docs can be useful tools. Here are some tips on how to optimize their benefits and avoid the pitfalls.

Built-in grammar checkers are most useful for catching mechanical errors such as mistakes with grammar or spelling. When using writing software, check for red or blue underlines and click on them to see what the software suggests. It might let you know that you misspelled a word, that you need a comma, that you need to capitalize a particular word, etc. Just going through these underlined words and phrases can really help clean up your paper.

However, there are some mistakes to avoid when using these tools. Sometimes, a built-in grammar checker will try to substitute an entirely different word in place of one you wrote, occasionally one that is incorrect for the context. This is a result of the checker attempting to improve your style and voice without a human understanding of the complexities of language. Style and voice are far more complex than basic grammar, so grammar checkers struggle to provide helpful feedback in that area. Taking these types of suggestions can sometimes be a mistake.

If you want help with style or with any other area of your writing that is too complex for grammar checkers to grasp, feel free to make an appointment at the Writing Center to work with someone who can provide feedback that is specific to your unique project. Set an appointment at nsuok.mywconline.com.

The blank page can be scary. Knowing where to start is a big challenge. Here are three tips that might help.📌 Prewrite.P...
04/06/2026

The blank page can be scary. Knowing where to start is a big challenge. Here are three tips that might help.

📌 Prewrite.

Prewriting is any strategy you can use to organize your thoughts before you begin actually drafting your paper. This could be a mind map, a freewrite, a bulleted outline, or any other method that helps you put your thoughts down on paper. The important part of this strategy is allowing yourself to be free to approach it in whatever way you want to.

📌 Write headings.

It might sound too simple to be a useful strategy, but filling out the title page or writing an MLA heading can really help psychologically to get you started. By having something on the page, especially something that means you have one fewer task to complete later, you can trick your brain into thinking that the project is underway.

📌 Collaborate.

There is nothing better for beginning a daunting project than working with others and figuring it out together. If you have classmates who are struggling with the same paper, reach out and see if they want to do a writing session together. Additionally, you can bring any blank page to us in the Writing Center and we will help you organize your ideas and put the first words down.

Make an appointment at nsuok.mywconline.com.

We are rapidly nearing the end of the semester.Exams, presentations, and due dates for big projects are all looming on t...
04/01/2026

We are rapidly nearing the end of the semester.

Exams, presentations, and due dates for big projects are all looming on the horizon. If you’re stressed, here are some steps you can take to improve your mental wellness.

📌 Take deep breaths.

Breathing mindfully helps regulate our emotions. It slows our minds down, putting us back into the present.

📌 Take time to rest.

Even when we feel like we don’t have time, giving ourselves a little extra rest can help our brains function better when we are on task, improving our productivity overall.

📌 Reach out.

If you're feeling overwhelmed, reach out to faculty, peers, and any services the school has to offer. Here at the Writing Center, we can help lighten the mental load by guiding you through writing a stellar paper. If you need help, make an appointment at nsuok.mywconline.com!

Active reading is reading to remember and retain.Writing papers and taking tests becomes a lot easier when we remember w...
03/25/2026

Active reading is reading to remember and retain.

Writing papers and taking tests becomes a lot easier when we remember what we read. The problem is that retaining information while reading can be really hard.

How do we read actively to be able to retain information? Here are two tips:

📌 Define words you don’t know.

We often try to just figure out definitions of words based on the context of the sentence. This can work sometimes, but if we’re reading something with a lot of difficult words, we can lose the meaning pretty quickly. Taking a moment to look up a definition will make a vast difference in your retention of the information.

📌 Review the information aloud.

One of the best ways to remember information is to repeat it aloud. It’s extra helpful if you tell it aloud to another person! Verbally repeating information helps ensure that we not only remember it, but are also able to put it into our own words, which is really helpful for essay-writing.

Here at the Writing Center, we can help you organize all of the information you've retained into a stellar paper. Book an appointment using the link in bio!

What major is the Writing Center for?Any student with a major that requires writing can benefit from a trip to the Writi...
03/23/2026

What major is the Writing Center for?

Any student with a major that requires writing can benefit from a trip to the Writing Center. We see students from many diverse fields who bring in all kinds of papers. We have helped students write papers for science classes, math classes, and counseling classes - and don’t forget that even English majors can get something out of a visit to the Writing Center! Every writer needs a reader, and we are ready and willing to read any type of paper you need help with. Book an appointment at nsuok.mywconline.com.

Active reading is reading to remember and retain.Writing papers and taking tests becomes a lot easier when we remember w...
03/09/2026

Active reading is reading to remember and retain.

Writing papers and taking tests becomes a lot easier when we remember what we read. The problem is that retaining the information we read can be really hard.

How do we read actively to be able to retain information? Here are three tips:

📌 Re-read sentences you didn’t understand the first time.
📌 Highlight significant passages.
📌 Take notes (bonus points if you do it by hand!).

Re-reading sentences doesn’t make you a bad reader. It actually makes you a good one! There are many reasons why you might not understand a sentence or passage upon the first reading, such as the author’s complicated writing style or your own mental fatigue. It is perfectly valid to need to go over a passage again, and it will help you in the long run to have actually understood the reading material.

Highlighting significant passages will not only help you remember the information, it will also make it so much easier to return to that information if you need to look at it again later. This will help you in both essay-writing and test-taking. Having highlighted passages ready to go will save you time when looking for direct quotations or important exam information.

Taking notes is one of the best things you can do to retain information. It is especially useful to write by hand, as studies show that you are far more likely to remember information this way than by typing notes. Like highlighting passages, taking notes not only helps you retain information, but also provides a fast and easy way for you to return to that information.

At the Writing Center, we can help you organize all of this information you have retained into a stellar paper. Book an appointment with us using the link nsuok.mywconline.com.

Address

3100 E New Orleans Street, Library Building BALB 226
Broken Arrow, OK
74014

Opening Hours

Monday 11am - 5:30pm
Tuesday 11am - 5:30pm
Wednesday 11am - 5:30pm
Thursday 11am - 5:30pm
Friday 10am - 2pm

Telephone

(918) 449-6060

Website

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