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About the EWC
Thanks for your interest in learning more about the EWC! Below you can find contact information and also learn a bit more about your advising team at UMUC.
EWC Mission Statement
The Effective Writing Center (EWC) offers a variety of online writing services and resources to all UMUC students and faculty worldwide. To support students, the EWC provides highly accessible personalized online writing advice by experienced, trained advisors and self-service online resources on a variety of writing and information literacy issues. The EWC serves students at all skill levels and stages of the writing process. In using the EWC, students achieve active learning and improve communication, critical thinking, and information literacy skills.
As the faculty resource for Writing Across the Curriculum and Writing in the Disciplines, the EWC helps faculty integrate both informal and formal writing into their courses. To support faculty, the EWC provides guest lectures and advice on writing assignments and assessment. In using the EWC, faculty develop stronger writing assignments, improve grading rubrics, and incorporate the writing process in their classrooms.
The EWC Offers Students
- Written and audio feedback on writing assignments (organization, introductions, transitions, conclusions, etc.)
- Answers to writing-related questions
- Self-study activities on research and writing
- A plagiarism tutorial module
- Resources on topics from argument development to English As a Second Language
- An Online Guide to Writing and Research with related links and self-assessments
Learn more about what the EWC can do you for you in Student FAQs or for your classroom in Faculty FAQs .
Contact Us
EWC Contact Information
You are welcome to explore this Web site for writing advice and information, or to contact us using one of the methods below.
- EWC mailing address
University of Maryland University College
Attn: Effective Writing Center
3501 University Boulevard East
Adelphi, Maryland 20783
- E-mail writing-related questions to writingcenter@umuc.edu
- Submit Your Paper for Review Online
Meet the Advisors
The EWC's experienced writing advisors are advanced undergraduates, graduate students, professionals, and UMUC faculty. They are trained in an intensive program that includes mock and live student writing requests. They are available 24 hours a day for one-on-one, online writing advice.
Lisa Zimmerelli, Director
lzimmerelli@umuc.edu
Lisa Zimmerelli is a UMUC collegiate assistant professor and the director of the Effective Writing Center (EWC). She started with the EWC as an advisor, and coordinated the EWC for two years before transitioning to the assistant director, then director position. Lisa teaches Writing 291 and Writing 387 for UMUC.
At the University of Maryland, College Park, she taught lower and upper level writing courses and was the assistant director of the University of Maryland writing center for several years. Lisa co-authored The Bedford Guide for Writing Tutors, 4th edition, with UMD writing center director Leigh Ryan.
Lisa is a PhD candidate in English at the University of Maryland, specializing in rhetoric and composition studies. Her particular interest is in nineteenth-century women's rhetorical practices. She has presented at conferences on both writing center and rhetorical theory topics. Lisa lives in Annapolis with her husband, son, two black labs, and two cats. She enjoys reading, hiking, gardening, and listening to local music in Annapolis.
David Taylor, EWC Senior Advisor
David Taylor's first job out of graduate school (Doctor of Arts—writing) was as an assistant professor of rhetoric at Hampden-Sydney College. After five years there, he landed at Moravian College, where he was an associate professor of English and journalism. Prior to coming to UMUC, Taylor served as an executive editor at Rodale Press, where, in addition to editing duties, he also provided in-house editorial training. Today he has returned to full-time teaching as a senior writing advisor at UMUC's Effective Writing Center.
John Whitcraft, Lead Advisor
John Whitcraft is the lead advisor and coordinator of UMUC’s Effective Writing Center (EWC). Before becoming lead advisor, John worked as an online tutor for the EWC for two years.
John became involved in writing center work during his time as an undergraduate at University of Maryland, College Park. He tutored students in academic, business, and technical writing along with instructing group English 101 workshops. He was also the teaching assistant for the Writing Center’s tutor training course during his final year as an undergraduate.
John is earning his master’s degree in English at University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP), with a concentration in rhetoric and composition. He is also an adjunct lecturer for UMCP and is currently teaching English 101.
EWC Writing Advisors
Ronnie Apperson
Ronnie Apperson has a BA in English from UMUC and works as an advisor at the EWC. He loves to read—he's a huge James Patterson addict—and also enjoys creative writing.
Amanda Barnett
Amanda Barnett is a professor of English for UMUC and is also a writing advisor for the EWC.
Michelle Bowman
Michelle Bowman is a UMUC online writing advisor and guest lecturer. In addition, she is a senior at UMUC and will graduate this spring with a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology. When she is not managing her work and class loads, she is the Web site facilitator in the careers thread of UMUC’s online psychology club. Michelle is an Orkand scholar and a member of the National and UMUC Dean’s list. In fall 2008, she will attend the University of Wisconsin-Stout for a Master of Science degree in the clinical mental health counseling program with a minor in career counseling. Eventually, she plans to earn a PhD in psychology and become a college professor, career counselor, or start her own counseling practice. Although her main interests are in psychology and counseling, writing will also always be a passion. Michelle resides in Wisconsin with her husband, two children, and cat. She enjoys family, art, music, yoga, and wine tasting.
Gay Claiborne
Gay Claiborne is a faculty advisor for the EWC. She enjoys helping students improve their writing. She believes that students who write well early on in their college career are much more likely to complete their degree program and to succeed beyond college. An instructor of UMUC undergraduate language and literature courses—working with writers of various ability levels—she often recommends students to submit their assignments to the EWC for advice on how to refine their writing.
A native South westerner, she attended New Mexico State University in Las Cruces to earn a BS in secondary education and an MA in linguistics and literature. After living and teaching in colleges and universities in the Caribbean and Asia for several years, she completed a PhD program, studying composition and rhetoric at University of South Florida in Tampa. The title of her dissertation is Japanese and American Rhetoric: A Contrastive Study.
Allison Dorsey
Sara Felber
Samantha Francois
Nancy Hardy
Anna Hill
Anna Hill is a graduate student in anthropology at Syracuse University. Her academic focus is in historical archaeology of the African Diaspora and her dissertation research attempts to bridge the gap between archaeology and education.
Kulsum Malik
Aimee Maxfield
Aimee Maxfield is an online tutor for the EWC. She is currently working on a PhD in English at the University of Maryland, College Park, with a concentration in medieval and modern drama.
Brent McCafferty
Joan Mitchell
Joan received both her undergraduate degree and graduate degree from Salisbury University in Salisbury on the “Lower Shore” of Maryland. She graduated summa cum laude with a 4.0 GPA and a BA degree in communications arts, specializing in interpersonal communications, but had as many hours in literature and creative writing (poetry and short stories). Her graduate degree in literature, 3.9 GPA, also contained courses in rhetoric, grammar, and writing program issues, and she taught two classes per semester of English 101 and 102 to freshman from 2003-05. She has specialties in Melville, Faulkner, Hemmingway, Proust, and other contemporary writers.
Mary Alice Moore
Michael Nielson
Michael Nielson teaches writing and composition courses at UMUC and Prince George's Community College. He also teaches technical writing and grammar workshops for industry. His writing experience comprises over 20 years writing technical documentation, developing training CD-ROMs and Internet-based training, keeping a journal, and writing short stories, and poems.
Alicia Rasley
Alicia Rasley teaches composition at a state university and fiction writing online. She received her BA and MA in English literature at Butler University. Her book on writing, Point of View and Your Story, is due out in March 2008 from Writer's Digest Books.
Sarah Reed
Sarah Reed is a current UMUC student majoring in English, with a minor in communications. Sarah is a freelance photographer and she is studying photography at the New York Institute of Photography. She lives in Michigan with her husband and their two children.
Leigh Ann Ruggiero
Shannon Stevens
Shannon Stevens has more than a dozen years experience in the fields of journalism and communication. In August 2007 she began full-time work on her master's degree within Urban Affairs' communication studies area. As a graduate assistant at UNLV, her duties include conducting labs for COM 101. Additionally, Stevens is excited to work as an advisor for the EWC.
Olivia Wurster
Olivia Wurster earned her Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Washington, Seattle in 2001.