Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Pender County high school students will benefit from the expert tutoring of University of North Carolina Wilmington English graduate students from 8 a.m. to noon, Saturday, Nov. 21 at Pender High School, 5380 NC Highway 53 West Burgaw, 28425.

At this writing clinic, UNC Wilmington students will help high school students grow the writing literacy skills vital for success on the North Carolina End of Grade and End of Course assessments. Topics will include how to approach a research subject, use of quotations, citation format and basic grammar. Students will work in teams to tackle these typically challenging parts of writing a paper.

Anne Black, Pender County high school teacher, requested the expertise of the community to help students improve their writing skills. UNCW's Department of English responded to the problem, which is faced by numerous youths throughout the nation. According to the Alliance for Excellent Education, "roughly 23 percent of high school graduates are not ready to succeed in an introductory-level college writing course" and "40 percent of high school graduates lack the literacy skills employers seek."

Pender County students are not the only ones who will benefit from this outreach effort. Graduate students will also "become reacquainted with skills they have largely internalized by vocalizing and demonstrating these skills," said Keith Newlin, English department chair.

Media are invited to gain photos and interviews with participants at this event. RSVP to the below contact before attending.

Media contact:
Joy Davis, UNCW media relations, 910.962.3616 or davisjc@uncw.edu