Mission & Philosophy

Our Mission

As part of the educational mission of the college, the Old Westbury Writing Center helps students become more effective and confident writers. We assist students in developing critical thinking and writing skills important for their college careers and beyond. In individual writing conferences, we engage writers in conversation about their ideas and drafts and offer strategies to help them consider options and make effective rhetorical decisions. We help with writing for any course or academic occasion and welcome students from all disciplines and academic levels.

Our Philosophy

Several beliefs about writing and learning shape our mission and practice.  We believe that:

  • all writers benefit from sharing their ideas and drafts with readers
  • writers learn best when they take ownership of and responsibility for their writing
  • writing is a method both of communicating ideas and of discovering them
  • writers and their writing benefit from attention to higher-order concerns like audience, ideas, argumentation, and organization before tackling lower-order concerns such as syntax or spelling.
  • writers benefit from individualized responses tailored to their particular strengths and areas of concern
  • writing improvement requires time, effort, and thought