Students who need another eye on essays or writing assignments, fear no more for the Bengal Writing Center offers help with all kinds of writing needs.

New at East, this after-school offers help to students in the Bengal Writing Center, Room 330, on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays from 2:20 to 3:30.

English teacher Kristen Lindbeck, who started the Bengal Writing Center, said, “Last year, I was really surprised that there was such a need for it, and we had nothing like it. We had the math crib. We had tutoring during study halls. We had FLINAOs. But what were we really doing to help the kids write?” Lindbeck said.

The program is currently facilitated by English teachers Lindbeck, Erin Portman, and Samantha Moffett.

“I felt like kids need a place to go for help and so many of our teachers want to do this. … We all have a need in the building. Everyone can do something, so for kids whose teachers are coaches and can’t stay after school, I realized that this was something that I could do,” Lindbeck said.

All students need to enter the writing center is “just show up,” Lindbeck said.

“It helps build confidence in your writing,” Freshman Gianna D’amico said while working recently on her Of Mice and Men essay for English I. “It makes my writing more fluid and make more sense,” D’amico said.

The writing center staff can help students with multiple parts of their writing.

“If kids need help finding sources and building an outline, … a lot of help finding the evidence and the analysis portion [of essays]. We’ve seen that kids know how to find a source and can pull quotes from it, but have no idea what to do after they have their quotes in terms of the analysis portion, so [staff are] helping with that to editing rough drafts and everything in between,” Lindbeck said.

Teachers at the writing center can also help students with writing essays.

Some students said that the writing center helps them with many facets of the writing process.

“It gives you more time to actually focus,” freshman Noriko Mora said.

Freshman Jennifer Diaz said one of her favorite parts about the writing center is “getting to go over my essay in a quiet space. … It’s a useful resource.”

As the semester nears its close, consider visiting the writing center for help before finals begin.