Consulting, not Proofreading: How the Writing Center Helps College Writers

1. Consulting, not Proofreading:How the Writing Center Helps College Writers Fall Orientation Workshop, August 17, 2004

2. The Idea of a Writing Center(Stephen M. North) NOT: • a fix-it shop • a proofreading or editing service • a remedial skill and drill laboratory • a form of classroom instruction • a guaranteed remedy for errors or poor papers Consulting, not Proofreading: How the Writing Center Helps

3. The Past (Peter Carino) • Classroom workshops (1900 – 1930s): Method, not Site • Writing Clinics (1940s – 1950s): Armed Forces English, Diagnostic Sites • Writing Labs (1970s – 1980s): Open Admissions, Remedial Sites • Isolated cubicles, workbooks, headphones, grammar exercises and drills Consulting, not Proofreading: How the Writing Center Helps

4. The Present (1980s – Now) Writing CENTERS • Writers can talk about their writing • Consultants (tutors) offer face-to-face verbal feedback • Students set the agenda for consultation on their writing sample • Neither grades nor instructors are discussed • Students practice composition and revision aloud • Goal is not better writing, but better writers A supportive environment where: Consulting, not Proofreading: How the Writing Center Helps

5. Student Services: What We Do to Help College Writers • Provide 20 min. of tutoring (30 min. if not crowded) • Help with any stage of the writing process: • Topic selection • Audience considerations (tone) • Strategies for persuasion, logic, organization • Research and source citations • Page Layout and formatting (MLA, APA) • Coherence of sentences and word choices, 1 page max • Model revision habits for students to apply on their own (Clark & Healy) • Ask students to identify weaknesses and how to improve (Brooks) • Suggest ways to make the paper fit instructor specifications • Refer students to resources in print or online for further practice Consulting, not Proofreading: How the Writing Center Helps

6. Bibliography • Brooks, Jeff. “Minimalist Tutoring: Making the Student Do All the Work.” Writing Lab Newsletter 15.6 (1991): 1-4. • Carino, Peter. “Early Writing Centers: Toward a History.” The Writing Center Journal 15.2 (1995): 103-15. • Clark, Irene L. and Dave Healy. “Are Writing Centers Ethical?” WPA: Writing Program Administration 20 ½ (1996): 32-38. • Harris, Muriel. “Solutions and Trade-Offs in Writing Center Administration.” The Writing Center Journal 12.1 (1991): 63-79. • North, Stephen M. “The Idea of a Writing Center.” College English 46 (1984): 433-46. Consulting, not Proofreading: How the Writing Center Helps