Schedule an Appointment 

Register with the Debby Ellis Writing Center 

Mission 

The Debby Ellis Writing Center (DEWC) is a space where undergraduate writing consultants are trained to work with students and faculty to support writing practices and to cultivate writing skills at Southwestern University. Our peer writing consultants are available to work one-on-one with writers at all levels, in all disciplines, and at all stages in the writing process. 

Goals

• To provide support, strategies, and feedback to writers as they shape their writing abilities
• To collaborate with, rather than merely instruct, students during their writing process
• To trade/share ideas and engage in productive dialogue with students as well as to challenge writers’ assumptions in order to refine and strengthen their writing
• To develop and increase students’ confidence in their written communication skills so that these skills will serve them throughout their academic writing careers and professional lives
• To guide writers in understanding the various consequences of writing in regard to diverse audiences and purposes
• To provide faculty support in planning, developing, and drafting effective writing assignments
• To connect with faculty and campus organizations to help writers understand the expectations of student writing and how to meet them
• To expand knowledge of a variety of literacies, including digital literacy, through the practice of virtual and written feedback consultations