Mission

The primary mission of the CBE Writing Proficiency Program (CWPP) is working with College of Business and Economics (CBE) students to improve their long-term writing performance. It serves to help students become proficient at producing effective business documents. It is the goal of CWPP to help students in the College of Business and Economics address the requirements of their written assignments directly and effectively. Effective business writing is a key component of communication in the workplace. Without effective communication, business and commerce become impossible.

Writing Consultants

Writing Consultants are available to help students refine their business writing through critique and consultation. They will examine the purpose, organization, structure, and other high-level components of your assignment. Writing Consultants can teach you to edit and proofread assignments. They will reinforce the idea of the three-step process of writing:

• Invention
• Revision
• Proofreading

Writing Consultants in the CWPP will work primarily with students on higher order writing concerns. Higher order concerns (HOCs) include those large organizational issues such as thesis and topic sentence development, focus, audience and purpose, organization, and development. The Writing Consultants will help students with lower order concerns (LOCs), such as sentence structure and grammar, should time permit. If time does not permit, the student with lower order concerns will be encouraged to use online writing support materials from the Online Writing Support (OWS) website. The Writing Consultants will review the OWS materials with the student after the student completes the tutorials.

Writing Assistance Process

1. Professor Referral
Students must be referred by a professor via email to the Writing Consultant. The referral should include as the following information:

• student's name and email
• assignment given
• nature of problem
• professor's expectations for assignment
• student's paper (attached in email)
• attach a sample “A” paper (when possible)

2. Self Referral
Students may seek help from a Writing Consultant. In a self referral, the student must send an e-mail to the Writing Consultant. The student can also upload the document to Google Documents and share the document with CBEWriting@towson.edu. The referral should include the following items.

• Student’s name and e-mail
• Copy of the assignment given
• Copy of the student paper and any graded copies
• Nature of the problem
• Highlight thesis statements and topic sentences with explanations

3. Use of Towson University’s Online Writing Support “OWS” Website (lower order concerns)
Students with lower order concerns are encouraged to use the online writing support materials. The Writing Support Website provides on-line, self-study tutorials. After reviewing a self-study tutorial, students will take a test on the topic and can bring the test to the Writing Consultant for grading and review. More information can be found at: http://www.towson.edu/ows/ or http://wwwnew.towson.edu/writingsupportprogram/.

The CBE Writing Proficiency Program was made possible by the generous support of McCormick and Company, Inc.