Open Writing Center appointments are as scarce as golden tickets lately. As due dates approach and new assignments hit the table, WConline is accumulating more hits of its own as students check for that time-slot to go from baby blue to bright white. If you’re wait-listed and hoping for that opening notification, or if you’re abusing the refresh button, fingers crossed for new results, why not use that time waiting for the window to load as an opportunity to expand your vocabulary and improve your writing by logging on to… Facebook?
You may know Merriam-Webster as one of the most commonly used American dictionaries, but did you know that they’re also on Facebook? The Merriam-Webster Facebook page, at http://www.facebook.com/merriamwebster, offers a word of the day- most recently “sigmoid,” defined on their page- as well as links to Merriam-Webster articles about anything from “Commonly Confused Words” to “Trend Watches.”
Although Facebook is certainly not considered a prime space to exercise academic writing, Merriam-Webster’s page offers a great way for followers to still get some educational value from the social networking addiction. And don’t worry twitterers, M-W’s not about to leave you out! If you’re more inclined to succumb to the distractions of twitter, feel free to get your vocab fix with the tweets of MerriamWebster.
Remember, after you fb m-w, definitely fb UCWbL. The DePaul University Writing Center has our own Facebook page with frequent updates. You can also follow us on twitter at: http://twitter.com/DePaulUCWbL.