From a blank page to a red thread

"If someone else has already written ten pages and you're still staring at the screen, that doesn't mean anything," says Ute Reimers, getting to the heart of typical writing problems: comparisons with others, blockages at the beginning, a vague idea of the academic writing process. In addition, there are questions about time planning, academic style, correctly integrated sources and, increasingly, the sensible and permissible use of AI.

Ute Reimers and Dr. Sonja Sälzer head the Center for Academic Writing (ZefaS) at the University of Siegen. As lecturers in Faculty I, they realized years ago that students need support when writing academic papers. A dedicated working group became the cross-faculty Center for Academic Writing. Today, ZefaS is a permanent institution under the umbrella of the University Library and is located on level 2 of the main library AR.

ZefaS does not see writing as pure formulation work, but as a process with many stages and just as many typical stumbling blocks. "There is a great desire among students for feedback on their texts, but not in the sense of proofreading, but with a view to structure, comprehensibility and the common thread," emphasizes Sonja Sälzer.

Writing peer tutors play an important role at ZefaS. Students are trained as writing consultants and then support Bachelor's and Master's students of all subjects as student assistants in individual 1:1 consultations. This ZefaS service is supplemented by regular workshops and a guided writing and reading time as a co-working format. The ZefaS writing consultations are therefore deliberately low-threshold. "It is often easier for students to come to us with questions relating to the writing process than to the lecturers' consultation hours," says Sonja Sälzer. There, in turn, you can concentrate more specifically on subject-specific content and conventions. "We try to talk about the text, and that often opens up new perspectives."

The experts know that there are different types of writers and always encourage those seeking advice. "Planners, puzzlers, random writers - there is no one right way to write. Constantly comparing yourself tends to block you," says Ute Reimers. The proximity of ZefaS to the university library is important because information skills and writing skills go hand in hand. "Writing also involves finding a topic, narrowing it down, posing a scientific question and carrying out targeted research," says Sonja Sälzer.

Library Director Sabine Boccalini also sees the clear added value of the collaboration: "It's like a modular system into which ZefaS fits seamlessly." She emphasizes that the UB's modular offerings are important and suitable for all academic career levels. The library offers numerous courses: from the selection of suitable search tools to research strategies and the use of AI tools. There are also Coffee Lectures, which provide compact insights into the services offered by the library and other university facilities over free coffee and pastries. With this comprehensive offer, the library provides valuable support for academic work during studies. Lecturers also have the opportunity to book a course unit and can thus easily integrate aspects of information and writing skills into their own courses.

In addition to students and lecturers, other target groups also benefit from the closer integration. Pupils and prospective students from the region are introduced to academic work through workshops and the "Fit for the subject paper" advisory service. Sabine Boccalini: "We look forward to the next generation of students getting to know our campus, having a good experience here and then perhaps deciding to study at the University of Siegen." With ZefaS moving under the roof of the University Library, distances will be shorter, collaborations will be consolidated, support services will be more visible and typical writing problems will be a good deal smaller.

The courses offered by the UB:

• Fit with the Bib
  These include classic introductions to the library as a learning space, aimed at students, school groups and people moving to a new university location. These introductions facilitate orientation in the library and show the possibilities offered by the newly renovated University Library Siegen, which is equipped according to the latest criteria. They also provide basic information on finding literature in the Siegen University Library.
  
• Clever research
  This module offers advanced courses on general and thematic research skills in the library catalog and in specialist databases. The topic of artificial intelligence in literature research is also addressed.
  
• Managing literature
  The courses on the literature management programs Citavi and Zotero help to facilitate the effective handling of sources and citations when writing academic papers.
  
• Good scientific practice
  The fourth module also deals with the area of correct citation and avoiding plagiarism.

The University Library regularly offers all courses both as face-to-face events and as online events via Webex. Video tutorials and other course materials, which are already available on a range of topics and will be expanded in the future, can be used regardless of time and place.