Workshops help students improve writing

High school juniors and seniors received writing pointers this summer at essay writing workshops given by UofL’s Office of Admissions.

Each hour-long session accommodated about 20 students, who learned how  to tailor their writing for an academic audience, as well as some tips on vocabulary and structure. They were taught about writing college application essays, scholarship essays and professional letters. The program began three years ago when admissions noticed a decline in writing skills of many applicants. The workshops address this problem while also enriching participants' summer campus visits and helping admissions reach out to the community. “We saw a definite gap between the writing of students who’d had one-on-one instruction and those who hadn’t,” said program coordinator Kristin Ellis. “With this program, we’re trying to close that gap.” The program's popularity grew rapidly, with an extra session added this year to accommodate demand and a video session available online to out-of-area students. The series wrapped up its four-session summer run July 30.