The Writing Centre

At the Writing Centre, we encourage students to realize their strengths, question and understand their writing choices, build relationships, discover their authentic voice, and recognize all forms of improvement in the ongoing, imperfect process of writing!

We offer in-person (face-to-face) appointments and online appointments via video call (synchronous) or email (asynchronous) . Learn more about our service schedules and appointments with our Schedule and Appointment Guide.

Are you an Open Learning student?

Resources

Students can access our collection of undergraduate- and graduate-level resources on topics like essay structure, thesis statements, grammar and punctuation, literature reviews, capstone projects, and a variety of different citation styles.

Events

Creative writing Fridays

Calling all creative writers! Join a community of fellow writers for tea, snacks, and encouragement! Students will have the opportunity to write to a prompt, work on their own writing projects, and receive friendly feedback. No registration required.

Join us for Creative Writing Fridays in the fall and winter semesters!

Workshops

Check out our workshops on topics like APA, MLA, academic integrity, responsible use of AI in academic writing, or guest workshops from faculty or peer mentors.

Land Acknowledgement

In the Writing Centre, we are actively working towards decolonizing academic writing processes and spaces. Part of this includes acknowledging—and pushing back against—the impacts of colonialism and systemic/institutional racism.

Drawing inspiration from Chavez (2021), we seek to listen, to focus on relationships, to inspire students to develop their authentic voice, to diversify our resources and our thinking about writing structures, and to redefine what “improvement” or “success” looks like in writing. We also consider the words or language we use carefully: as writing centre tutors and staff, we recognize the power—and potential harm—of language.

Acknowledging territory in a way that is both meaningful and tied to ongoing advocacy and action is important. We hope this spoken word poem (arguably, a format that is the antithesis of “academic” [read: white, mainstream] writing) land acknowledgement encourages YOU to think about language, your positionality and responsibility…and popping into the TRU Writing Centre to say hello!

Testimonials

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Student Testimonials

After being out of school for almost two decades, the writing team at TRU was amazing at giving feedback on papers and assignments to help me achieve an excellent mark in the course I was enrolled in. Going back to APA formatting and remembering how to write an academic research paper would have been a much more stressful if it wasn't for the team at TRU.

- Tyler Smid, Student

What I received at the Writing Centre was far more than proofreading support. The tutors helped me understand the reasoning behind academic writing conventions. They walked me through APA formatting step by step, explained how to integrate sources effectively, and challenged me to clarify my arguments and deepen my analysis. Rather than editing my work for me, they empowered me to become a stronger writer. Each session built not only my technical skills but also my confidence. I no longer approached writing with anxiety and self-doubt. I approached it with strategy, structure, and a belief in my ability. For me, the Writing Centre did not just help me improve a few papers. It helped me graduate. It transformed writing from a weakness into a strength and gave me the confidence to move forward into my professional and academic future. I am deeply grateful for the role it played in my journey, and I believe wholeheartedly in its continued importance for students striving to reach their full potential.

- Dustinee Weeks, former Human Services program and Bachelor of Social Work student

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Tutor Testimonials

The Writing Centre was central to my success as a student. Not only did it provide me access to practical supports - citation help, proofreading tips, that kind of thing - it gave me necessities much harder to manufacture: belonging, acceptance, a community where I could be myself but also grow and develop as a person. At the Writing Centre, we broke down so many barriers of thought and communication. We unlearned racist and classist practices, we learned to see the insidious ways they perforate not just writing, but the thinking that results from it. I truly believe I would not only have been a worse student, but a worse person, had I not had the Writing Centre.

- Nat Stewart, former Writing Centre Tutor

What makes [the Writing Centre] exceptional is not only the expertise of the coordinator and staff, but the welcoming, supportive, and human-centered environment they create. Students do not simply receive academic feedback — they experience encouragement, belonging, and care. Even with my prior teaching experience in Iran and my professional roles at TRU, whenever I walk into the Writing Centre, it feels like home. That sense of safety and support is especially critical for international students, multilingual learners, and students with diverse learning needs.

- Shahzad Yazdanpanah, Writing Centre Tutor, Alumni, Spring 2026 School of Education and Social Work Valedictorian

Working in the Writing Centre has given me a place and purpose as a student. Rather than only being a learner, I get to engage with knowledge in a more reciprocal way. It is an honour to be trusted by other students when they share their writing and include me in their academic journeys. As someone who experiences various forms of privilege in western academic settings, I am grateful for the chance to redistribute at least some of that privilege by working with others as they navigate the many barriers facing students.

- Anneka Spice, Writing Centre Tutor and Alumni

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Faculty/Staff Testimonials

I have used the Writing Centre at TRU as a master’s student in 2012 and as a faculty member in 2025 working on projects that needed a professional and polished presentation. The one-to-one personal support that I received helped me to create the best possible papers and projects. It also provided me with an opportunity to become a stronger more confident technical writer who could do a better job editing my own work. The most important benefit is the relationships that I have developed at the writing center who celebrated my successes with me!

- Saskia Stinson, Associate Teaching Professor, 3M National Teaching Fellow 2025