A Writer's Wanderings

          As a tutor in the writing center, I’ve met quite a few people who have found themselves having a hard time coming up with ideas for an essay. Your professor might leave it entirely up to you to come up with a research topic to write about (relating to whatever subject is being covered in class), and you just have no idea where to start. Where do I start?! We’ve covered so much already! Today, I’m going to walk you through some quick, easy ways to come up with a research topic and from there, how to outline your paper.             First, let’s try to review what your professor has already talked about in lecture. Skim through your notes and see what been discussed or what chapters have been covered so far. For example, let’s say your class has been focusing a lot on Edwardian England and your essay has to be a research essay about some aspect of life in that era. It seems extremely vague at firs...

I’m almost done with school. This’ll be my last semester… unless I eventually decide to get a PhD (but I’ll worry about that later). The point is that my educational goal, the one I made what feels like a lifetime ago, the one to get a Master of Arts degree in English, the goal that will allow me to teach in the community which I love, is almost complete. Done. And it feels great. As I look back at the years I have spent in school, I can remember the many times I questioned what I was doing, whether this was really all worth the trouble or if I could even do this. There have been so many mountains to climb along the way, so many challenges. Whether it was spending the precious resources of time and energy, dealing with problems with family, with finances, or various jobs, there have been innumerable times where I wondered if I could even do it. Now, this isn’t supposed to be long “good job to me” because I know I’m not alone. I know that there are so many students who are right no...

              Welcome to the WRC and congratulations on starting a brand new semester at Fresno City College! The tutorial center offers a number of resources to help you get through your classes with relative ease and comfort, including math, history, and English tutoring. Here at the Writing and Reading Center specifically, we have peer tutors familiar with writing and reading comprehension based assignments who are willing to help you with assignments you may be having difficulty with or even assignments you may just want an extra set of eyes on. All tutors are currently students that are going through or have gone through the same challenges that you may be going through willing to offer their experience and advice to assist you in your collegiate journey.             When you have an essay assigned to you, you can bring the prompt to us so that we can help break down what you need...