Rock Creek Writing Center

Rock Creek Bldg. 2, Rm. 212 (in the Student Learning Center) | Coordinator: Jeff Jaeckle | 971-722-7733

Congratulations!

The winners of the Writing Center's Fall 2011 Best Essay Contest are:

1st Place:: Kathleen Miller
2nd Place:: Jessica Swafford
3rd Place:: Marisha Knutson

Each student will receive an honorarium and an award certificate. Kathleen Miller's first-place essay, "The Mirror," will appear in an upcoming issue of the PCC literary magazine, The Bellwether Review.

The Rock Creek Writing Center helps PCC students from all disciplines and writing levels achieve their writing goals and become better writers. We can help with any stage of the writing process.

The center is staffed by PCC instructors who can provide assistance in the following areas:

Generating ideas by using brainstorming techniques
Overcoming writer's block and anxiety about writing
Developing ideas, reasons, examples, arguments
Finding useful sources for writing
Organizing material
Finding the focus (thesis) of a piece of writing
Understanding a grammatical point
Writing stronger introductions and conclusions
Writing more concisely
Writing essays, creative work, resumes, scholarship letters, applications and more
Documenting sources using MLA or APA documentation

If it has to do with words, we can help.

The Mighty Pen

The Mighty Pen is a series of half-hour workshops offered by the Rock Creek Writing Center.

The Mighty Pen Series - Winter 2012

All sessions will begin at 12 noon in RC 2/201

How to Avoid Sentence Fragments: Tuesday, January 24 or Wednesday, January 25
How to Write Introductions & Conclusions: Tuesday, February 14 or Wednesday, February 15
Formal vs. Informal Language: Tuesday, February 28 or Wednesday, February 29
MLA Formatting: Tuesday, March 13 or Wednesday, March 14

Hours

Beginning the second week of classes, the Writing Center will be open the following times:

Monday - Thursday:: 9am to 6pm
Friday:: 9am to 12noon
Saturday:: 10am to 2pm
Sunday:: Closed
First Week of Classes & Finals Week:: Closed

Students can drop-in or make an appointment. To make appointments or speak with tutors, call the Writing Center at 971-722-7733.

Tutors

Writing Center Best Essay Prize

Attention WR 121 Instructors: The Writing Center's Best Essay Prize aims to encourage WR 121 students by honoring their writing.

Prizes will be awarded to the top three essays chosen by Writing Center tutors. Cash prizes: $100 for 1st, $75 for 2nd, $50 for 3rd. The first place winner will also be published in the Rock Creek Review literary magazine.

Contact the Writing Center for submission date.

How to nominate

Instructors may nominate up to two essays per section.
The essays should be predominantly narrative and descriptive in mode.
Make sure the essay has the student's and your name on it. If possible get student’s phone and address as well.
All essays must be typed.
Put a copy of the essay(s) in the mailroom slot for Alison Apotheker or email to aapothek@pcc.edu.

Best Essay Prize Winners

Fall 2011: 1st Place: "The Mirror" by Kathleen Miller (Instructor: Jason Larson); 2nd Place: "Charmbreaker" by Jessica Swafford (Instructor: John Zackel); 3rd Place: "Night Visitors" by Marisha Knutson (Instructor: Marianne Monson)
Fall 2010: 1st Place: "A Fork in the Road" by Jason Pederson (Instructor: Angie Berdah); 2nd Place: "What Comes After Wonderland" by Alex Moyer (Instructor: Melissa Manolas); 3rd Place: "This Place is a Prison" by Emeline Le (Instructor: Marianne Monson); Honorable Mention: "Demon Days" by Kaia Renouf (Instructor: Andy Zboralski)
Spring 2010: 1st Place: "A Train Ride Through the Garden" by Sami Badzik (Instructor: Kyle Lang); 2nd Place: "The Farmer Takes a Wife" by Susan Urbanski (Instructor: John Morrison); 3rd Place: "Press One for Two, Press Two for One" by Michael Levasseur (Instructor: Melissa Rue); Honorable Mention: "Whiskey & Wanderlust" by Jeff Barker (Instructor: Kyle Lang)
Winter 2010: 1st Place: "My Mother's Life" by Nadia Gugnyak; 2nd Place: "A Picture of Home" by Dennis Mitchell; 3rd Place: "My Paradise" by Sina Motamedi
Fall 2009:: Matthew Keeslar "A Hushed Persuasion"
Winter 2009:: Andrew Perluss "Frank's Burger"
Spring 2008:: Kendra Hendrickson "Golden Red"