The mission of the Center for Academic Writing is to ensure high standards of written academic English throughout the university, by providing students with support and guidance so as to ensure that their work meets the expectations of the international discourse community, and by supporting and working with faculty to help students achieve the standards expected of them.
The Center for Academic Writing is one of the leading writing centers in Europe, awarded the "Writing Program of Excellence" certificate by the Conference on College Composition and Communication in 2004.
The Center offers writing support for all members of CEU but especially for students, right through to the final thesis. Our goal is to help students to become proficient, independent writers who can function effectively in the wider academic and policy community after graduation. In the words of writing center pioneer Steven North, "...we are more concerned with producing better academic writers than with producing better academic texts."
The Center provides courses in academic writing that aim to help students develop and present their ideas effectively according to the needs of their discipline. We also focus on the necessary research skills for term papers and thesis writing. The Center also offers individual consultations on any aspect of writing students wish to improve. Teaching and individual consultations are closely interlinked to give students effective training and support in writing for graduate study.
The Center for Academic Writing at CEU is a member of the FIESOLE group, a network of applied linguists, educationalists and language professionals from a number of European higher education institutions committed to the dissemination of best practices in academic communication, with particular reference to the needs of researchers and junior faculty in today's multilingual Europe.