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How
Do You Start a Writing Center?
First I thought it would be helpful to see how far writing centers have come and what the idea of a writing center is according to the literary population that we live in and work with. I visited the website for the IWCA to look for information on the history of the writing center. I found an article written by Jeanne H. Simpson, taken from a Writing Center Journal issue from 1985. I suppose the reason that I chose this essay, compared to the others available is because it was written in a way that was easy to understand, unlike a lot of the essays I have been required to read. I didn’t find myself peeking into a dictionary to interrupt my reading. Jeanne H. Simpson’s essay discussed the idea that since writing centers have been popping up all over the country for the last three decades, this is proof that we, as writing center advocates, have achieved legitimacy as an academically respectable program (Simpson 3). The writing center network that has been created has eliminated the isolation of what used to be the pioneers in our field. The essay written by Simpson, along with Stephen North’s essay, “The Idea of a Writing Center” both strive to relate to their audience the importance of full comprehension of the writing center as a body. North wrote his article, which is widely quoted in the writing center world, to reach those who are not affiliated with a writing center and may have had prior misconceptions of what it is all about. However, I discovered that the misconceptions are not committed by outsiders alone. North has visited over fifty writing centers and read about hundreds of them. In the 1970’s there was a resurgence of interest in the academic world, which was turned toward writing centers and their curricula. Contemporary perspectives about teaching writing began to take shape and the “old center” morphed into a new, contemporary one. This transition produced two powerful perspectives on the teaching of writing: “first, that writing is most usefully viewed as a process; and second, that writing curricula need to be student-centered” (North 27). In another essay about writing centers, author Elizabeth Boquet discusses the history of the writing center. She touches on the changes that writing centers have undergone, much like North and Simpson. Boquet proposes that there is an “evident tension between the writing center whose identity rests on method and the writing center whose identity rests on site…” to convey the struggle that so many writing centers have fought to establish themselves (Boquet 465). This explains the identity problems writing centers had when they were first starting to develop. It is important for the mission of any writing center to be realized and utilized by the public for which it was developed. If the population a writing center is serving is not aware of the programs or the existence, then the work is useless. Stephen North works to not only create awareness about writing centers for the general student population, but he also works to dispel myths that are so commonly connected to writing centers. The bottom line, according to North, is that most people simply do not understand what goes on at writing centers. According to North, there are two aspects of writing center instruction. Writing centers exist for “the correction of textual problems” and to conduct “student centered” tutorials that open doors for writers (North 22). North allows his audience to understand the ideas behind writing centers by reiterating real-life examples of things that have occurred in the writing center world. As previously mentioned debunking myths and misunderstanding are all a part of the writing center experience. He uses the example of a new teacher who sends his students to the writing center to “get their papers ‘cleaned up’” (North 22). This happens with teachers and professors who have good intentions, but do not fully understand the program that is offered. North states his discontent by saying, “What makes the situation particularly frustrating is that so many such people will vehemently claim that they do, really, understand the idea of a writing center,” when they are the ones who misinterpret the function of a writing center altogether (North 23). He continues to argue that those English educators who should really understand why writing centers exist, are the ones who are most responsible for fueling the public’s misconceptions about the writing center as a “fix-it” shop. Boquet discusses how although the early writing centers turned their focus toward the individual rather than the social nature of composing, there were still instances at UNC’s Composition Condition Laboratory where it was believed to be “a center designed specifically as a grammar fix-it shop” (Boquet 468). These misconceptions do not only exist where North works, but all across the country. In 1997 at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania, the writing center faculty were setting down guidelines for their primary goals in the teaching of composition. They decided that they would attend to “the development of general patterns of thinking and writing” (24). But they disagreed on the reasons for referring students to the writing center in the first place. Someone said that grammar and punctuation were the most important aspects of composition; others felt that organization was the key. This kind of frustration on IUP’s campus is what North finds as a common thread in his work. He does not want people to believe that, “the idea of a writing center can only be some sort of skills center, a fix-it shop” (25). The reason that many writing centers are thought of as grammar drill centers and fix-it shops is because the people who started them have made it that way. According to North, writing centers are “…the vital and authentic reflections of a way of thinking about writing and the teaching of writing…that is alive and well…living in English departments everywhere” (North 27). Writing centers are necessarily based on helping students with their own writing process and they function on a level that encompasses every aspect of writing. North states that in writing centers the goal is to make sure that “writers, and not necessarily their texts, are what get changed by instruction” (27). The goal is to end up with better writers, not better writing. As a peer tutor, I always try to send my student away with some kind of knowledge they will be able to apply to their writing, even when I am not there to prompt them. This is the idea that North tries to convey through his essay. I always enter a tutorial thinking of what Stephen North would want to come out of it. I interpret his ideas to mean that we encourage students to take risks with their writing and to stretch beyond the familiar five-paragraph essay. It is common to encounter a student who does not have a set writing process or maybe does not understand how to develop a process. Talking with the student about this process will yield a better writer. When a student learns how to properly use citations, she will be able to turn back to that knowledge in her mind, every time she needs to write something. It may not improve the writer's style or help her vocabulary, but she will be able to use citations successfully. That is how a better writer, not necessarily better writing, is produced. I used Simpson’s essay and North’s essay to weave together the idea that writing centers have evolved and that it was because those involved worked to dispel the common myth about writing centers, like North describes. A future writing center director must accomplish an endless list both before and when a writing center is finally up and running. I would like to discuss a few of the things that must occur. At the heart of any worthwhile operation there are initial goals and intentions, an agreement on what the writing center would like to bring to their academic community. An example of such a sufficient ideology and one of my favorite ideas that North discusses about writing center goals is that “[I]n a writing center the object is to make sure that writers, and not necessarily their texts, are what get changed…” (North 27). When a writing center is being planned, the center’s specific needs must be considered. How large is the college or educational institution that the center will be serving? What role will the center play in the bigger picture or in the community it is serving? These questions will help to shape both the structure and services at the writing center. It is obvious that the writing center’s director will not fully understand the role that the center will play until it is actually up and running. According to Muriel Harris, typical goals may include more individualized, collaborative assistance with writing, to accompany writing across the curriculum programs, to prepare students for testing and maybe even to supplement instruction in writing courses. Next we turn to the issue of attracting students to the writing center. This is actually something that we as peer interns have been assigned to solve. We have our lovely pencils, but we tried to create something that could circulate a little more. We decided to create a template for a bookmark that I believe will help to increase the traffic flow at our writing center here at Pitt. It is obvious that a writing center’s hours must be available to students at convenient times. The location of the writing center must be in an accessible location, near classrooms and publicity can aid as an informant about the location of the writing center. Students must be able to set up appointments and have place that they can take their writing on short notice. Our writing center at Pitt allows for the versatility. Not only are there available appointments Monday through Friday, there are satellite sites in both the freshman residence halls and in the library which do not require any previous arrangements. Drop-in sites work well because of the unstructured manner in which an appointment may be sought out. Harris suggested that an effective writing center should consider holding workshops for students as well (Harris 5). Todd, one of my fellow peer interns, is working on a project with the freshman studies office, to help inform incoming students about the choices they have available to them to improve their writing. Hopefully, next semester we will be able to go into their classes and expose the new students to what our writing center has to offer to them. According to Harris, one of the main goals of writing centers should be to inform the students about the center and its services, as well as why it’s useful to writers and how to use it. With the freshman studies program, we will be able to accomplish just that. Funding for writing centers can come in many forms and in many amounts. Typically, English departments fund writing centers because they are so closely related to the writing program (Harris 6).. But some writing centers receive their funding from student services or the office of the dean. Initial funds may come from grants or may come in the form of donations from businesses or alumni (don’t we hope). There is not really any publicly available information on funding for specific writing centers. It is a process that takes time and is usually not publicized. To ensure that the writing center is an inviting place to learn and write, there must be enough light and space for tutors and students to work comfortably. A receptionist is helpful so tutors do not have to contend with scheduling appointments (Simpson 4). They are the origin of the operations at the writing center. They greet students, answer phones, maintain files and basically allow each day at the writing center to run smoothly. After all of these issues are considered, we must turn to the question of who will staff the writing center. These staff members, as we know, can include peer tutors, graduate students, part-time teachers, full-time teachers or professionals. The budget that is available will then decide how many people can have jobs where a salary is awarded. It is very common for writing centers to have the basic supplies like a few computers and a small space with which tutorials may occur. Writing centers can operate on the most primitive level possible. All that is necessary is the student and the tutor, but it is a luxury to have computers available as well. At Pitt, we are lucky enough to have books, computers and other resources available. But keep in mind, this is one of the more fortunate writing centers. When the center is up and running, there are a few important things that need to be taken care of. With each student who has an appointment, whether it is at a walk-in site or at the writing center, records must be kept. Records are needed to measure the volume of students that the writing center serves, how often they use the services, why they are there, and how they are evaluated by their tutor. These statistics are usually compiled in a yearly review and sent to department heads or someone else who approves funding for the following year. Evaluations are not conducted only on students who use the writing center. They are also done to evaluate how effective the staff and tutors are at helping students. Evaluation may be used to compare grades, motivation, and attitudes of students who attend the writing center with those students who do no attend any tutorials. Writing centers vary from institution to institution and there is no single model to follow. Consequently, there are no clear guidelines for administrative structure (Harris 5). They may function apart from the English department or in conjunction. What is most important is that the writing center maintains its own separate identity, apart from all other operations that student services may offer. What can be consistent however, is the mission with which a center operates. There must be tutors and staff members who are willing to help students improve both their attitudes about writing and their writing. As a peer intern, I have learned how to navigate the differences in each student that I have tutored. I have not tutored any students who have be underprepared, only those who get stuck on things. I have learned that my life before working at the writing center was missing something. Now I feel as though I have a place in the academic world that I did not before. I love going home at the end of the day knowing that I made a small difference for someone else.
"Our Little
Secret": A History of Writing Centers, Pre- to Post-Open Admissions
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