Department of General Studies

AGU Writing Center

The AGU Writing Centre is used to develop the personality of students. Integrated learning activities and workshops are held here on regular basis.

Services:

The AGU Writing Center is a service provided by the DFGS. It serves all students in all departments. The center will assist the student at any stage of the writing process on an individual basis.

The Centre is dedicated to improving student composition and rhetorical skills regardless of their university discipline. The Writing Center assists the students in strengthening their grammar, word usage, and vocabulary. It also gives students the tools to write a paragraph, essays and research projects.

What is the AGU Writing Center?

The AGU Writing Center is a service provided by the DFGS located on the first floor in room 124. It is dedicated to improving student composition and rhetoric for all students in all university departments and colleges.. The center assists the students in strengthening their grammar, word usage, and vocabulary. The center also equips students with the tools to better develop paragraph, essays and research projects.

What services are provided by the center?

Individual tutoring/Writing Consultation both face to face and via e-mail: Students can make an appointment to discuss a writing assignment or project. Students have the choice of making a face to face appointment or submitting their work for feedback and assistance via e-mail.

Study hall: Students are invited to come to the Writing Center at their leisure to work independently on writing assignments. They can ask for advice as they work, taking advantage of the instructor’s help in a more informal setting than the traditional tutoring appointments.

Workshops: The Writing Center will offer workshops periodically on selected writing/presentation topics, designed to reinforce crucial writing elements. Topics may include but are not limited to writing a resume, cover letter, or making a class presentation.

How do I make an appointment?

Come to room 124 and see the instructor, fill out the appointment request form online, or submit your document online along with the online submission form for feedback and assistance via e-mail. You may also walk in no one has an appointment at the time.

What will the instructor do for me?

You can expect the instructor to provide helpful feedback on your assignment, guide you in the writing process and answer any questions that you have concerning grammar, style, and the like. You can expect the instructor to listen to your concerns and assist you as much as possible.

What will the instructor NOT do for me?

The instructor WILL NOT write your paper for you and give you all of the answers. The instructor WILL NOT proofread and edits your work to perfection. You must take ownership of your work and understand writing errors and discover with the assistance of the instructor how to improve your assignment.

How long is each time slot?

A face to face appointment slot is 30 minutes or 1 hour. If work is submitted via e-mail, the instructor needs a maximum of 48 hours to respond.

What do I need for my appointment?

For a face to face appointment, if you have started your assignment, bring a hard copy of what you have completed so far as well as a soft copy. Come with questions and come ready to participate in the writing process. If you are submitting work via e-mail, please fill out the online submission request along with your document. If you are more than 10 minutes late, your time slot will be given to someone else. Should you need to cancel, please notify the center at least one hour in advance.

Language Lab

The Language Laboratory is designed to empower teachers, engage students and provide a motivating learning experience. It facilitates rapid language learning through a combination of stimulating multimedia content, interactivity, and provides a very flexible and focused learning experience. Research suggests that many students perform significantly better with visual content and hands-on interactivity. This is reinforced by a carefully managed program of increasing complexity- with the key objectives of achieving TOEFL/IELTS readiness and making English learning a satisfying and enriching experience. In addition, the Language Lab offers many other benefits to students. These are:

• Internet access enables instructors and students to take advantage of the wealth of existing multimedia language learning resources, many of which are freely available.
• The Language Laboratory enables teachers to regulate the classroom-based learning activities, namely shared experiences, teamwork and interaction with one’s peers.
• Use of the online dictionary facilitates grammatical precision and encourages the development of vocabulary.
• Students obtain immediate feedback from the computerized programs thus accelerating their learning experience.
• Listening Comprehension can be done at the student’s pace, with as many repetitions as desired.
• The audio-lingual aspect of the Lab facilitates near-native pronunciation and speech rhythms.

Activities within DFGS

The Department of General Studies not only enriches students with general knowledge but also encourages students to participate in many activities in order to build their self-esteem.

The in-house activities of the DFGS are :

AGU Club

The AGU Club operates under the auspices of DFGS and Student Affairs. This club was formed to enable students to develop their oratorical skills and develop their personality. The club encourages students to participate in language games and integrated learning activities usually held in the resource center. Students receive ample exposure to a variety of learning experiences.

In addition, the AGU Club magazine is a pioneering effort by the AGU Club. It provides an outlet for students who wish to express their ideas and opinions. This magazine also believes in highlighting student achievements and is fully supported by DFGS and Student Affairs.

• Movie Club
  • AGU movie club has been set up to motivate students to develop their English Language skills. Students are encouraged to watch films, comment on them and make suggestions. It is also a space where they can access short video/audio clippings and work on related language exercises.
• Toastmasters Club
  • Aiming to hone public-speaking, social and leadership skills, AGU Toastmasters Club will empower its members to realize their full potential. A competent communicator will be achieved through the successful completion of ten projects. To ensure quality outcomes, AGU Toastmasters Club will provide a series of learn-by-doing workshops in a no-pressure atmosphere, focusing on the development of prepared and impromptu speaking skills in particular.
• Innovation Club
  • Highlighting the significant role innovations play in today’s world, AGU Innovation Club will devise a number of purposeful activities. These are:
  • Inspiring Projects: Adopting a learner-centeredness approach, project work will be emphasized. Examples of projects include, amongst others, movie making; image presentation; and community-related projects.
• Reading Club
  • With the slogan today’s readers are tomorrow’s leaders in mind, reading club will carry out a number of activities. Reading for pleasure, motivation increase, and the enhancement of learning fun are amongst the principal requirements to be stressed. To meet such requirements, the overriding question in selecting a text is how this text can improve the learning process and increase its effectiveness. Several criteria will be considered when selecting a text for reading purposes.