GMIT Academic Writing Centre now operating fully online

Tuesday, October 20, 2020 Press Office
Press Release

Valuable resource for registered students as GMIT further meets the Covid-19 challenge and facilitates online learning

GMIT is delighted to announce that its excellent academic resource for students, the GMIT Academic Writing Centre, has transitioned fully to online delivery, offering focused academic writing tuition to all students, at all levels, across all disciplines on the Galway and Mayo campuses.

The Centre was first trialled in 2014 as a pilot project initiated by Barry McMillan and the late Deirdre McMahon, lecturers within the then College of Tourism and Arts (now Galway International Hotel School). Such was its success, it quickly became a dedicated Centre within central services, supported by The Office of Academic Affairs and Registrar, and facilitated by the lecturers’ Heads of School and Department and by the Institute Librarian.

Located, initially, in the library on the Dublin Road campus, it subsequently branched out on the Letterfrack and Castlebar campuses and in early 2020 had extended its provision delivery to include both online and onsite services. The Centre was, therefore, readily prepared for migration to full online functionality and delivery when the Covid-19 pandemic broke in March of this year.

Barry McMillan, Chair of the GMIT Academic Writing Centre, says: “A founding value of the Centre was the maximization of student opportunity—and opportunity depends on accessibility. From the outset, the Centre has offered students the guidance and direction to enable them to achieve their highest quality work and to attain their highest standards. The shift to being fully online in current circumstances is a move in support of both of those objectives. It is a clear expression of GMIT’s student-centredness.”

Academic writing is a fundamental skillset for third-level students. They learn writing skills which help them gain higher marks and enhances their employment prospects. The sessions focus on the individual student’s particular requirement, which may range across such aspects as structure, grammar and punctuation, the formulation of argument, academic referencing, citation and other key writing skills.

The tuition available takes the form of pre-bookable, thirty-minute, one-to-one sessions, based on individual student requirement. Access to the Centre's webpage and booking system is via a link located on the library homepage. https://library.gmit.ie/support/academic-writing-centre/

ENDS

Issued by Regina Daly, GMIT Communications & Press Officer, GMIT, Dublin Road, Galway.
Tel 091-742826/0879618355 (m) regina.daly@gmit.ie   www.gmit.ie/news
 

Galway-Mayo IT, IT Sligo and Letterkenny IT working together to become a TU for the West and North-West of Ireland www.cualliance.ie