Making the Most of Writing Center
Services
The Writing Center staff wants
to support you and your students. The most effective methods for using the
Writing Center to support student writing in
your courses are the following:
- Send in
copies of your syllabi, assignments, and writing guidelines.
- Inform
students that they will receive tutoring, not editing.
- Bring your
classes by for an introductory visit.
- Invite
Writing Center staff to speak with your classes about the benefits of
receiving tutoring.
- Encourage your
students to visit both the Writing
Center and our website (especially our Resources for Writers page).
- Provide
extra points or extra credit for visiting the Writing Center.
- Refer
individual students who you think need additional writing support.
- Meet with
the director, Theresa FitzPatrick, about any special situations or requests.
- Keep in touch by communicating your
questions, comments, and suggestions.
Required Writing Center
Appointments
If you wish to
require an entire class to come in for an assignment, there are a few things
you must take into account before doing so:
- You
must let the Writing Center know at the
beginning of the semester so we can plan ahead.
- All
students in your class MUST make an
appointment ahead of time—we are not able to accommodate an entire class of
walk-in sessions.
- The
Writing Center will not keep track of students who come in for your
assignment. They must ask for a form
from their tutor which they will be responsible for filling out before they
leave the center. This will serve as
their proof of tutoring.
- We
cannot accommodate traditional students online. They must come in for a face-to-face session.
- If a
student comes for a required session and is unwilling to actively participate in the session, she/he may be asked to leave without a signed form.
We have had good
feedback from required sessions in the past; often it encourages students who
may never have used us to give the Writing Center a try. However, we are a small operation, and we
must work to serve the entire campus—not just one class. Following these policies will help us provide
quality tutoring to willing participants.
If you would like
to encourage your students to use the Writing Center, the director, Theresa
FitzPatrick, is happy to talk with you about other effective ways to do so.
Please contact her at fitzpatrick@csp.edu or x6233.
Sample Assignments and Rubrics for Faculty Use:Sample Rubric for Argumentative PapersConcordia faculty are welcome to use this rubric as it is or modify it to fit their needs.
Sample Rubric for Informative/Explanatory PapersConcordia faculty are welcome to use this rubric as it is or modify it to fit their needs.
Sample Rubric for Reflective PapersConcordia faculty are welcome to use this rubric as it is or modify it to fit their needs.
NEW! Guides for Commenting on Student Writing:
Haswell, R. (2006). The complexities of responding to student writing; or, looking for shortcuts via the road of excess.
Across the Disciplines 3. Retrieved September 29, 2008, from
http://wac.colostate.edu/atd/articles/haswell2006.cfm.
NEW! Land, R. E. (1987, February). Classroom inquiry: What our students taught us about paper making."
The English Journal 76(2), 113-116.
NEW! Mosher, J. (1998, February/March). Responding to student papers: responses to avoid and productive advice to give. Word Works, 90-91. Retrieved September 29, 2008, from http://www.idbsu.edu/wcenter/ww9091.htm.
NEW! Soles, D. (2001, December). Grading as a teaching strategy. Teaching in the Two Year College 29(2).
Tips for Leading Class Discussion
This site provides tips for facilitating class discussion and introducing collaborative work.
Managing Writing Assignments in Large Classes
This site provides tips for managing paperload and grading requirements for instructors who want to use writing assignments but teach large classes.
Bedford Guide to Teaching WritingThis site provides chapter titles for an excellent guide to teaching and evaluating writing. It also contains a link to sites that sell the book.
University of Minnesota Center for WritingThis site includes information on designing effective writing assignments, responding to and grading student wriitng, detecting and discussing plagiarism, and more.
Create Better Writing Assignments
Reflections on Jim Corder's "What I Learned at School." This site offers a condensed version of Corder's article, which discusses how teachers can create better writing assignments for their students.
ESL Resources
This site, produced by Purdue University, contains handouts and exercises teachers can use when working with students for whom English is a second langauge.
Council of Writing Program Administrators
This site provides detailed information about plagiarism, including explanations of intentional vs. unintentional plagiarism, strategies for designing assignments that discourage plagiarizing, and approaches for handling suspected plagiarism.
