Weekend Warriors attack ASU

Twenty student warriors from Laney and Josey high schools invaded Augusta State University for tutoring sessions at the Writing Center March 23 and 30.

Dubbed Weekend Warriors, the programs are designed to help college-bound high school seniors succeed in freshman composition.

“We’ve tried to set up a skill-building resource for these young people,” said Karin Sisk, Writing Center director and Weekend Warriors program administrator. Sisk, Dr. Mary McCormack, acting assistant department chair for Languages, Literature, and Communications, and seven volunteer tutors taught the students critical reading and writing skills.

“We want to teach them how to think critically about what they hear and what they read,” Sisk said. “It’s basically the same things we teach in English composition.”

“The ability to analyze, summarize, and respond logically to a reading is a skill most students don’t have when they come to college,” she said. “They can take that skill with them to any class or any conversation they may have in life.”

“The students are required to write an essay and read an article in advance, and write a second essay based on that article,” Sisk said. “The tutors then work one-on-one with the students revising the essays, thereby helping the students improve their writing skills. The students may also continue to use the Writing Center resources for the rest of the term for help with other academic writing projects,” she said.