The Writing Center is there to help you develop writing and writing-related skills in a low-pressure environment. The Writing Center's consultants are other MMA students who excel at and enjoy writing, and they are there to give you a place to talk about and engage with writing projects of all kinds, and at all levels.
It is a commonplace to describe writing as having two elements: having something to say and saying it well. The consultants at the writing center can help with both. You can arrive with just an assignment and some vague ideas, and they can help you talk through your ideas for what you might write about. You can arrive with an almost-final draft, and get their help polishing the language, making every sentence as clear and beautiful as it can be. Most people are somewhere in between, but all are welcome.
In most American K-12 schools, writing is presented as an individual skill, and in most cases getting help on writing assignments from other people is considered cheating. In contrast, in all academic and professional writing, collaboration, editing support, and outside proofreaders are the norm. When a scholar writes an article, they have their colleagues and friends read and comment on early drafts, then a panel of reviewers and editors give them comments and suggest revisions before the article is finally published. Novelists and journalists have editors who help them focus and improve their writing and copy editors and proofreaders check final drafts.
College is the time that most begin to people make the transition from the solo writing model to the collaborative writing model, and you should not feel surprised or ashamed if you find the transition difficult or uncomfortable. Like all skills, collaborating on your writing takes practice.
For most college writing assignments, you need a fluid mix of research and writing skills. Writing Center consultants can help you with some research skills, and I can help you with some writing skills in one-on-one research support meetings at the library. If you are uncertain which place is more appropriate for your particular questions, that probably means either place would be appropriate.
