About Us

The Writing Skills Improvement Program (WSIP) is a service center in the College of Humanities at the University of Arizona. WSIP has provided writing support services for academic and non-academic writers for over forty years. We aim to meet writers where they are at, help them identify patterns in their writing, and support their development of writing skills to achieve their writing goals.  

WSIP Writing Specialists are professional teachers, tutors, and editors. We work with writers at every skill level and in all disciplines. Our clients include local, national, and international students, instructors, administrators, and other writers or teachers of writing. 

Mission Statement

The mission of the University of Arizona’s Writing Skills Improvement Program (WSIP) is to support writers and teachers of all genres and in all disciplines improve their academic, professional, and personal writing and teaching skills by: 
  1. providing superior training, mentoring, and guidance to all University of Arizona students, faculty, and staff;
  2. providing superior support and training for middle and high school students to improve their writing and critical thinking skills; 
  3. providing superior training and mentoring for teachers to further their professional development; and
  4. building general confidence and overall writing competence in writers and teachers of writing while honoring their linguistic, cultural, and socio-economic backgrounds.

Motto

WSIP promotes Rapport, Respect, Relationship with all participants. Rapport means getting to know individuals’ strengths, weaknesses, challenges, and goals. Respect means we value everyone’s writing and never take their voice away. Relationshipmeans we endeavor to develop supportive, positive connections with the writers we support..

As WSIP nears its fifth decade of service to the University of Arizona, Tucson, and the wider local and global communities, it adheres to the four pillars of The University of Arizona’s Never Settle philosophy-- engaging, innovating, partnering, and synergy-- to insure that its programs support diversity in all its forms and provide students with the skills required to become lifelong learners. We guide all of our students and clients in their acquisition of analytical skills, enhanced critical thinking, improved writing abilities, transcultural communication, and global awareness that includes understanding of diversity in languages, literatures, and cultures.

Land Acknowledgement
We respectfully acknowledge the University of Arizona is on the land and territories of Indigenous peoples. Today, Arizona is home to 22 federally recognized tribes, with Tucson being home to the O’odham and the Yaqui. Committed to diversity and inclusion, the University strives to build sustainable relationships with sovereign Native Nations and Indigenous communities through education offerings, partnerships, and community service.