Georgia State Writing Studio Helps University Community Find Its Voice

English isn’t Debosmita Mallick’s first language, but as a longtime student of it in her native India, she’s comfortable speaking and writing it.

A first-year computer science major, enrolling at Georgia State University brought her to the U.S. for the first time and, while she’s not planning a career in the humanities, she nonetheless recognizes the value of her undergraduate English classes and wants to do well.

That’s why, when a professor assigned her class to write a narrative describing their relationship with languages, Mallick sought out Georgia State’s Writing Studio.

“It’s a fun place to brainstorm and a good place to sit and collaborate,” Mallick says. “I wanted help on plot and characters. Going to the Writing Studio helped organize my thoughts more clearly.”

While it does occupy a physical space, with panoramic vistas of the Atlanta skyline from the 24th floor of Georgia State’s 25 Park Place building — inspiring views, to be sure — the Writing Studio is a group of writers, educators and students dedicated to helping members of the Georgia State community improve their command of the written language no matter the stage of the writing journey they’re in.

Established decades ago as more of a tutoring center, where members of the English Department faculty were expected to log hours wielding a red pen against pages handed over by earnest undergraduates, since the turn of the last century it’s adopted a salon-style approach, according to Distinguished University Professor of English Lynée Gaillet, changing its name from the Writing Center to the Writing Studio and onboarding tutors with a background and expertise in the research around writing instruction.

In addition to faculty, the Writing Studio’s tutors include graduate students versed in how people learn and how they learn to write. Instead of correcting faulty grammar, tutors focus more on helping students think about writing.

“We’ve moved beyond the red pen and, instead, students learn the best strategies,” says Gaillet, who has been a tutor in and director of the Writing Studio and oversaw it as former chair of the English Department. “The writer holds the pencil, and the tutor enters into a discussion. The focus is how to make meaning through writing, and how to discover meaning through writing.” Please read more here.