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| Winter 2003 Issue |
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Downtown Campus Library Offers Term Paper Clinic Remember staring at a blank computer screen or sheet of typing paper
while the deadline for a research paper fast approaches? Some students are sleeping a lot better thanks to a new service at the
Downtown Campus Library. This fall, the DCL opened a term paper clinic
to provide assistance to students struggling with research papers. “A lot of students feel overwhelmed by all the information the library
has,” said Kelly Diamond, who has a library science degree and teaches
English 102. “We hope this will help guide them.” For two hours every weekday, Diamond sets up shop in a study room in
the Downtown Campus Library and meets with students with questions about
writing research papers. The offer of help has drawn close to 20 students
a week to the free clinic.
“You’re starting from blank,” Ruby said. “When it
doesn’t come to you, you get frustrated and worry that it’s
going to be a bad paper.” However, after some advice from Diamond, Ruby is confident about the
quality of work she can produce. She said she appreciates the time Diamond
makes available to students. “She’s willing to help with anything, even if you having just
a small problem,” Ruby said. “If I have a problem on next paper,
I can come back Caroline Doyle, a pre-business sophomore, agrees. She tossed out all
her ideas for a paper, and Diamond responded with useful feedback on the
possible directions Doyle could head with the topic. Doyle was also more
at ease now that she better understands of citations. “A lot of people are intimidated about writing a huge paper,”
Doyle said. “It’s nice to have someone to help.” This research paper is a first for Lindsay Pursglove, a sophomore majoring
in pre-occupational therapy. She needed help using the many online databases available at WVU Libraries.
Diamond taught her how to find the best keywords for a topic to find the
best results in a search. “It’s nice to have someone you can go to for help,” Pursglove
said. “You don’t feel like you’re alone late at night sitting
in your dorm room.” David Gough, a pre-forensics sophomore, came to the clinic determined.
He wanted to learn what he could do to strengthen his paper, where he
could find more sources, and if he could file it down to a more specific
theme. He worked with Diamond to narrow his topic from all sports violence
to sports violence among fans. He especially appreciated the clinic because he’s in Diamond’s
English 102 class. “It makes it less intimidating coming in and talking to your teacher
about what she wants. Writing a paper and not knowing what they want is
a little hard,” Gough said. “I feel I have a lot better start
than I did when I came in – a lot better direction.” | ||||
| Ex Libris is published quarterly
by the WVU Libraries | |||||
