Friendly
Advice from the Writing Center
So you’ve finally managed to sit down to write that
paper, but you’re feeling anxious. How will you figure out what to say? Are
your skills up to par? Are you doing everything right? The Writing Fellows who tutor in the Writing
Center understand what you’re going through and can point you in the right
direction; however, successful tutoring sessions depend on both tutor and
client. Both must be prepared, be willing to communicate, and have positive attitudes.
Towards the end of last semester, I visited with
some of the Writing Fellows in the Writing Center and asked them about their
“pet peeves” in regard to Writing Center clients. Take a look – being aware of these “pet
peeves” may help you emerge from your next Writing Center session a better,
more confident, and less stressed writer.
Top
Ten Writing Fellow “Pet Peeves”
1. When Clients Procrastinate.
If you come to the Center the same day your paper is due, your paper will
receive emergency repairs instead of thoughtful, proactive and preventative care.
Schedule your sessions early – you will have
time to prepare questions, do some research, and of course, compose a more
complete rough draft.
2. When Clients Exhibit Negative Attitudes.
Perhaps your instructor is requiring a Writing Center visit you don’t believe
you need. Perhaps you feel that your
schedule cannot accommodate one more thing. Perhaps you’ve just had a bad day.
We Writing Fellows understand your frustrations, but negativity detracts
from the success of your Writing Center session. Try to come in with a positive attitude. Who knows? You might actually enjoy it!
3. When Clients Forget To Bring
Assignments/Prompts To Sessions. Figuring out the requirements
for and purpose of your assignment is vital in writing an effective paper. We can help you write to the assignment only
if you bring it with you to your session.
4. When Clients Expect Tutors To “Know
It All”: We Writing Fellows
are PEER tutors – students just like you, who know what it’s like to struggle
with writing college-level papers. We are
strong (not perfect!) writers who have had significant training in tutoring
skills. If we can’t answer every
question about writing, we usually know where to find the answer. We may, however, know nothing about the topic
of your paper, which actually makes us ideal readers/tutors. Think about it – if you can clearly
communicate your ideas to someone who is not familiar with your topic, you are
well on your way to a good paper.
5. When Clients Have Done Little Or No
Preliminary Preparation/Research: You are the writer, so
you need to be knowledgeable about your topic.
Unless you are coming to the Writing Center to brainstorm with us in order
to find a topic, your session will be much more productive if you have read the
necessary material and/or have found credible evidence to support the ideas you
are presenting in your paper.
6. When Clients Expect Editing And
Proofreading Services. We Writing Fellows are trained to help you learn to recognize and
correct your own errors. We typically
look first at “global” issues, like thesis development, organization and
structure, supporting evidence, etc., then move to “local” issues – grammar and
mechanics. The goal is to help you become
a better, more independent writer, not just for one particular paper, but for
everything you write in the future.
7. When Clients Book Two-Hour Sessions.
Two-hour tutoring blocks are mentally exhausting for both client and tutor, and
generally end up being less than productive. If you feel you need more than an hour with a
Writing Fellow for a particular paper, reserve two or three one-hour sessions
with a few hours between them – giving you time to rest and to revise your
paper from session to session.
8. When Clients Expect To Address EVERYTHING
In A Paper In One Session. Depending on the length and state of
your paper, you and your Writing Fellow may not be able to cover it in its
entirety. The two of you will set goals
at the beginning of each session. At the
end of the session, progress will be assessed, a plan for revision will be
discussed, and any needed follow-up sessions can be booked.
9. When Clients Neglect To Cancel
Appointments. Time
is valuable – the client’s, the Writing Fellow’s and the Writing Center’s. By notifying the Center that you must cancel
a session, you free up that hour for another client. Remember, you may cancel a session through
WCOnline up to 8 hours prior to your session time. If you must cancel fewer than 8 hours before
your reserved time, please email writingcenter@carthage.edu
or call 262-552-5536.
10. When Clients Don’t Tell Us How We’re Doing. Writing Fellows are human. We have bad days, misunderstand, and
sometimes miscommunicate. If we don’t
meet your needs and expectations in your session, please let us know – we want
to make the Writing Center experience the best it can be!