The Writing Center is one of many resources high school students can access through the Boise State Concurrent Enrollment Program (CEP). High School students taking CEP courses can utilize the Writing Center in a variety of ways, adding to the true university and CEP experience.
The following is a Q&A between the CEP and Writing Center Assistant Director Emily Thorsen.
Q&A Responses
CEP: “Describe the relationship between the Writing Center and Boise State’s Concurrent Enrollment Program.”
Thorsen: “The Boise State Writing Center serves high school students taking Concurrent Enrollment courses by providing them feedback on their writing, just as we would any college student enrolled at Boise State. Many Concurrent Enrollment Program students choose to utilize our asynchronous consultation service, which allows them to submit a draft of their writing with questions and comments about what they’d like feedback on. One of our writing consultants then spends an hour with the student’s writing, reading it and typing up written feedback to send back to the writer via their student email address.”
CEP: “If talking to a high school student currently taking CEP courses, how would you describe the benefits of the Writing Center and what it can offer to students?”
Thorsen: “The Writing Center is a free resource where a CEP student can get feedback on their writing from a fellow student (or someone who started working with us as a student). Our consultants, as students or former students themselves, understand how to maneuver professors’ expectations and assignment guidelines. They also can help CEP students ‘get out of their own heads’ by responding as a reader, in a low-stakes environment. We don’t assign grades, so we’re just here to help student writers see what they’re already doing well and what they could improve upon!”
CEP: “Talk about your role. How do you serve Writing Center visitors and the greater Boise State community?”
Thorsen: “I’m the assistant director of the Writing Center. My main role is to be there as support for our staff of thirty-plus writing consultants, many of whom are students, helping them to learn about different styles of writing, maneuver conversations with writers about ethical and effective use of tools like AI generators, and build rapport with writers. I love that I get to support Boise State’s students by supporting our staff.
“At the Writing Center, we understand that asking for feedback on our writing can be nerve-racking, so we work hard to alleviate writers’ worries. My job is to help our writing consultants feel prepared to do that. I also occasionally consult with writers from across campus, myself, which I love.”
CEP: “For those unfamiliar, what else does the Writing Center/the Department of Writing Studies offer that people may not know about?”
Thorsen: “The Writing Center offers three modalities of consultations for writers: asynchronous, in-person, and over Zoom. The in-person and Zoom options look very similar; the Zoom option is simply mediated by technology. In either instance, the writer sits down with one of our writing consultants to read their writing right then and there and discuss next steps. Writers can work with a consultant at any stage of the process, so if they haven’t started a project yet and would like to brainstorm with someone, we’re a great resource!”
CEP: “Anything to add?”
Thorsen: “A final thing I’ll add: our writing consultants have many different majors. It’s not just ‘writing’ students that work for us, and it certainly isn’t just students studying writing who book appointments! Writing is important across disciplines of study, and all writers benefit from getting feedback on their writing, whether they think they are ‘good’ writers or not. I teach writing courses at Boise State, and I get feedback on my own writing from our staff! I find it to be so helpful. We can all benefit from receiving feedback on our writing.”
Visit the Writing Center web page to learn more about Writing Center use. For more information about Concurrent Enrollment Program resources, visit the Student Tools and Resources web page.