A Resource for All
Writing Central is a resource for the entire campus community. Whether you’re a freshman in your first composition class, a seasoned writer, or working on an article for publication, everyone can benefit from collaboration during the writing process. In addition to its presence on PBA’s main campus, you can also take part in synchronous online appointments.
When you’re able to write effectively and communicate through the written word in a compelling way, you’ll set yourself apart no matter what profession you’re planning to enter. Empowering you with this important skill is what PBA’s Writing Central is all about.
Writing Central staff consists of student coaches who enthusiastically provide support and guidance. Our coaches love to assist writers achieve the skills necessary to express themselves clearly and successfully at the University and beyond. They’re committed to helping strengthen your ideas, streamline your thoughts and build skills for future assignments no matter what stage you may be in the writing process.
- Brainstorming ideas
- Creating an outline
- Writing a first draft
- Revising
- Proofreading
Frequently Asked Questions
Though we do accept in-person walk-ins, we recommend making an appointment to guarantee a time slot. Before you can make an in-person or online appointment, please register in our schedule system, WCONLINE. You must use your PBA email to register.
Create a Password & Login
As you complete the registration, you’ll be asked to create a password. This password is not related to your PBA password; it can be any combination of 5 letters and/or numbers. This password does not change unless you change it.
Select Availability
After you log in, select an available date, time, and writing coach for your appointment. All WHITE boxes are available for appointments. You can schedule up to two 30-minute appointments per day, and those can be back-to-back to create an hour-long appointment.
After you click on the available appointment, a pop-up screen will appear, asking you to let the writing coach know a little about what you want to work on. Click “Create Appointment”.
Canceling Appointments
If you cannot attend your appointment, please cancel it. The system will permit you to cancel up to 30 minutes before your appointment. To cancel, log in to the schedule and click on your appointment. Click the CANCEL button at the bottom of the pop-up and your appointment is canceled.
Making an Online Appointment
To make an ONLINE APPOINTMENT be sure to select “Yes. Schedule Online appointment” when creating your session.
About 10 minutes before your appointment time, you should log into the schedule where you made your appointment.
You should have: the document you want to work on in an electronic file that is easily accessible and a computer with an adequate Internet connection that also has a working microphone and speaker. Once you enter your online session on WCONLINE, your coach may send you a separate Zoom link, since Zoom supports screenshare.
Contact
If you have any difficulty connecting to your session, contact us at writingcentral@smxjjl.com
You should bring the prompt and/or rubric for your assignment so your writing coach can refer to it when looking at your work. You can bring your paper as a hard copy, on a flash drive, or you can use an Writing Central computer to pull up the assignment from your email or drop box. Bring any other materials necessary to understand your assignment and complete your goals for the session.
Your coach will begin by asking you about the class and the assignment. Your coach will then talk with you about your goals for the session and you’ll decide what you want to focus on. For the rest of the session, you and your coach will work collaboratively to both improve the project you’re working on and to improve your writing skills overall.
We can assist you with this area. We are not an editing service where you simply drop off your paper for someone else to correct; however, we work collaboratively with clients. We can help you to polish and finish your paper.
Absolutely! We can assist with APA, MLA, and Turabian formatting. We encourage clients to utilize resources available at Writing Central such as tip sheets and style guides to find the answers to your formatting questions.
Yes! We can show you how to take your research and integrate it into your paper properly and avoid plagiarism in the process.
Read the coach bios. Find someone who shares a related major or hobby if possible. If you do not feel you connect well with the coach you chose, you can always select a different coach for your next session.
You can find out information about that HERE.
When you are required to attend a Writing Central session for a specific assignment, let your coach know right away. We have a report form we can complete for you, and you can send that to your professor. Please note that we cannot simply sign a form for you without completing the session.
We can help you with brainstorming! Bring your assignment prompt Writing Central. We can work collaboratively to figure out what interests you and what you could write about for the assignment.
Meet our team
Danielle B.
Danielle is an enthusiastic nursing student. She grew up in Tirana, Albania as a missionary kid before moving to the USA two years ago to attend PBA. Danielle loves reading, running, and debating apologetics and philosophy. In her spare time, Danielle is always studying for her nursing classes!
Dorothy H.
Dorothy is studying English and Education. Her favorite part of the writing process is brainstorming because it’s the part that gets you excited about what’s next. Before moving to West Palm Beach to attend college, she lived in central Ohio where she was previously employed as a bank teller and teacher’s aide. She enjoys exploring parks (city, state, or national) and local coffee shops in her free time. Knowing that everyone has different strengths in writing helps her look forward to meeting clients every day!
Halle K.
Halle is an honors student studying for an English major and Creative Writing minor. She is a native South Floridian, but her heart belongs to Europe. Her favorite part of the writing process is researching and gathering sources. When she isn’t reading or writing, she loves yoga, archery, racquetball and listening to music nonstop.
Hannah G.
Hannah G. is a sophomore Biblical Studies major with an Education minor, hoping to pursue missions and/or teaching after graduation. She is very extroverted, loves sports and she works for the chapel office as well. So, you’ve probably seen her around! A fun fact is that she has had one article published for an online magazine. As a writing coach, she loves to help clients coherently express themselves and their ideas through their writing.
Johnna R.
Johnna R. is an honors student majoring in English and minoring in Creative Writing. She is originally from West Palm Beach, FL, but lived in Conyers, GA for thirteen years before coming to PBA. Her favorite parts of the writing process are brainstorming and polishing. In her free time, she loves going to the beach, reading (favorite books include Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland and A Wrinkle in Time), writing and gaming. She intends to become a novelist and poet, while teaching English.
Kira T.
Kira T. is an honors student majoring in English and minoring in Creative Writing. Originally from Orlando, FL, Kira now lives in West Palm with her husband. Her favorite parts of the writing process are brainstorming and editing—though when it comes to creative writing, she loves when random characters take over her predetermined plot. Outside of reading and writing, she loves musical theater, baking, gardening and hosting afternoon tea parties.
Nicole S.
Nicole Straussman-Allen oversees the scheduling, staffing, outreach and development of WC. She has been a part of the PBA family since her freshman year in 2010. She received her BA in Music Education and realized her passion for teaching at the collegiate level after her study abroad semester in Roehampton, England. She earned her MA in English Literature, with a concentration in science fiction and fantasy, from Florida Atlantic University in 2017 and began teaching at PBA as an adjunct instructor (English and Humanities) a few weeks later.
Throughout her graduate school and teaching career, she has worked at university writing centers and has witnessed first-hand how writing coaching can positively impact students’ success in their academic careers and beyond. She has over nine years experience working as a writing center coach and administrative assistant and is CRLA certified Level Three.
Nicole, her husband, her two little boys Peter and Silas (and their goldendoodle, Zelda!) live in Boynton Beach.
She looks forward to meeting up with you at Writing Central!
Savannah P.
Savannah is an honors student studying English with a minor in Creative Writing. She’s had a few poems published so far and hopes to release a novel one day—preferably while living in the Scottish countryside. She loves to read anything from high fantasy to sci-fi to classics to romance, but Percy Jackson holds a special place in her heart. During her free time, she loves to experiment in the kitchen, go to the movies and play cards with her friends.
Terra M.
Terra M. is majoring in International Business and minoring in Creative Writing. She has lived all over the US, having moved 11 times and her family currently lives in Norfolk, VA. Her favorite parts of the writing process are brainstorming and outlining. In her free time she likes learning foreign languages, reading, writing and listening to music.
Tyler N.
Tyler is pursuing a major in English with a minor in creative writing. He is originally from Spring Lake, MI. He loves reading fantasy and mythology genres such as The Odyssey and The Lord of the Rings. Tyler and his twin brother, Chris, both enjoy spending time discussing various aspects of Christian theology. During his free time, Tyler enjoys playing tennis and golf and reading.