- There are several:
1. Classroom workshops: If there is something related to writing that you would like covered for the whole class, we can provide workshops on a number of topics: documentation style, grammar, thesis development, writing process, integrating sources, etc. With a little notice, we can provide these workshops in your classes.
2. Required tutoring for the class: If you would like supplemental support for your students' writing and cannot make class time available for a workshop, you can:
A. Contact us to check on the timing of your students' coming to the Writing Center (staff availability)
B. Email your syllabus and assignment, as well as any specific foci you would like us to emphasize.
C. Give your students a window of opportunity that encourages them to work with us in process rather than waiting until the paper is due. Please be sure to emphasize that coming into the Writing Center is most effective when students can and will actually use the help (i.e., not just before the paper is due, when no changes are possible).
3. Required regular appointments for individuals: Many times, students need varying degrees of help with their writing. For students with significant writing problems, you can require regular appointments for the entirety of the semester, for part of the semester, for a particular assignment.
4. Voluntary, as needed appointments: This is the usual way that students use the Writing Center. This is what we usually prefer because it allows students to both take responsibility for and control of their writing support. Students can make appointments when they want them and this approach minimizes the resistance that can often come with required appointments. Students can generally have as many appointments as they would like, with the exception of multiple back-to-back sessions.
- Students do not need to have a completed draft before they make or attend an appointment. We can help students at any point in their writing process, and that help may be more useful before a draft is completed. Encourage students to make and keep appointments regardless of how far along they are in the assignment.
- Yes. If students bring us their writing prompts, we will try to help them figure out what they're being asked to do. However, since we will not have attended your class discussion of the assignment, we may end up sending them back to you for further clarification.
- We can help students understand the readings that they are working on by discussing with them what they are taking from it, and we keep several books on reading strategies on our shelves. However, since we are not experts in the subject matter of your course, we will make clear to them that we cannot teach them course materials and may end up sending them back to you for further assistance.
- Yes, but we need to know that you approve of that practice beforehand. By default, we will only help students working on take-home exams with general proofreading/editing, NOT content, unless we hear differently from a professor or a student brings in some form of verification. We rely on students to ask their instructors whether or not they may bring take-home exams to the Writing Center. If you do/do NOT wish your students to receive feedback from a Writing Center tutor on a take-home exam, please make that explicit when you distribute the exam.
- Yes. We are always happy to work with I.S. students at any stage of their writing work. In fact, I.S. students might want to visit the Writing Center regularly throughout their work, rather than wait until the often lengthy project is mostly completed. We want to be clear about our IS policy: we will assign IS students to work only with Writing Consultants and the Writing Center Intern. In the event that an IS student wants an appointment when these professionals are not available and the student has no other scheduling options, we will offer that student the option of working with a Peer Tutor, and it will be up to the student to decide if that will meet his or her needs.
- Yes. Each semester several members of our staff attend lectures/labs focused on writing in the Natural Sciences. We stock books on this subject and request syllabi whenever possible. Our tutors concentrate on helping writers from across the curriculum improve their abilities. If students are writing for your class, we can help them work on the qualities all good writing should possess, regardless of subject matter or topic. If you know of students in your discipline who are particularly strong writers (and not graduating seniors), please encourage them to contact Bill Macauley (wmacauley@wooster.edu) about working in the Writing Center.
- We are happy to help with non-coursework related papers, creative assignments, resumes/cover letters, study abroad/graduate school/internship applications, or personal statements/essays. We offer workshops for students/faculty throughout the school year on topics of interest to them, including citation styles, using supporting evidence, and assembling a writing portfolio. We also offer many links through our website to helpful and informative writing guide sites. We maintain a well-stocked and up-to-date library of print resources, as well as a collection of model independent studies from most majors. We hold open houses, creative writing workshops, and other writing-centered events. Year One, the College's first-year literary magazine, is produced and published through the Writing Center. We also have a collection of 6 iMac laptops available for student use within our spaces.
- No. Writing Center tutors understand that grades and evaluation are matters for the instructor. We concentrate on helping the writer become a stronger writer and write a stronger paper. We also do not discuss professors in any context, and we do not write on student papers- we believe allowing the student to mark up his/her own paper gives them greater ownership of their work and more responsibility for the development of their writing.
- Yes. We send email notification for every appointment a student has with the Writing Center. This notification consists of a work report detailed when the student came in, what assignment was worked on, and what writing issues/concerns in particular were addressed in the tutorial.
- The Writing Center is a collaborative environment. We try to help students improve their overall writing abilities; we do not "fix" their papers. We do not proofread or edit a student's work without their interactive assistance. In addition, students retain ownership of the papers even after a Writing Center visit; they decide whether or not they want to incorporate the tutor's suggestions into their work. The Writing Center staff has no control over what a student does upon the end of the tutorial.
- Yes. However, if you are requiring your class to visit the Writing Center for a particular assignment or for extra credit, we ask that you please notify us ahead of time (preferably a week's notice) and send us a copy of the assignment guidelines/your syllabus. This will allow us to not only make room in our schedule to accommodate your students, but also to prepare our staff ahead of time to assist with your particular assignment. It is also important to keep in mind that while you can require a student to come to the Writing Center on an individual basis, it may not always produce the desired results. Students who are required to come may not be as motivated to work on improving their writing as students who decide to visit. We suggest you encourage students throughout the term, especially those who might need extra writing support.
- If requested, we will come into your classes to work on particular writing issues. We also provide helpful links for faculty on our website as well as maintain a library of print resources on writing instruction and writing assignments. If you have a question about creating an assignment, clarifying a grammar/style/citation issues, or about the Writing Center's services, please don't hesitate to email us and ask!
- We are always happy to work with faculty on your writing prompts/assignments. Also, we have a number of books on writing and the teaching of writing in the disciplines which you may find useful.