Writing centers are probably the most underused resource available to college communities. They are underestimated, forgotten, misunderstood. And only you are hurt by this. Visit your school’s writing center. They miss you.
As I said in my guide on how to do college the right way, your school’s writing center is probably the most useful resource it has to offer. But despite English 101 instructors pushing it like the new gospels, writing centers somehow still get underestimated by students, faculty and administrators. The writing center is not just for editing or proofreading. The writing center is for all writers and all kinds of writing. And they want to help you.
The Writing Center Is Not for Proofreading
Back in 1984, Stephen North found himself dealing with the same issue when he wrote “The Idea of a Writing Center”. North describes the stereotypical student attending his center tossing “her paper on our reception desk, announcing that she’ll ‘pick it up in an hour'” and the adjunct instructor who “sends his students to get their papers ‘cleaned up’ in the Writing Center before they hand them in” 1. This is not really what a writing center does. Your writing center does not employ a staff of proofreaders who comb through grammatical errors for a nominal fee.
The problem is, students do not come preloaded with all the information they need to successfully use every service their school has to offer. And despite what many may think, the same is true of instructors. School admin don’t always do such a good job of describing what a writing center does either.
Well-intentioned administrators “are so happy that we deal with ‘skills’ or ‘fundamentals’ or, to use the word that seems to subsume all others, ‘grammar'”. But writing center staff are not a team of writing medics offering first aid solutions to dire grammatical situations.
The Writing Center Is for All Writers…
At the writing center North directed at SUNY Albany, he said, “Our job is to produce better writers, not better writing.” Writing tutors are more concerned with helping you, the writer. And that goes for all writers by the way—English 101 students, the dean of the Nursing college, Engineering grad students, facilities staff… Everyone.
“Nearly everyone who writes likes—and needs—to talk about his or her writing, preferably to someone who will really listen, who knows how to listen, and knows how to talk about writing too.”
For some reason, people spread the idea that if you see a tutor it’s because you’re stupid. That’s ridiculous. It’s ridiculous in a general sense, because seeking help is never stupid. But it’s particularly ridiculous when it comes to writing, because all writers benefit from a second opinion.
Sometimes professors will send their students to the writing center as a form of punishment. But this only stigmatizes tutors even more. Sometimes writers need special help to improve their writing, and writing center tutors can help with that. But they can also help with anything. Sometimes you don’t know you need help until you get a second opinion anyway.
…And All Kinds of Writing
Writing Centers are not just for English papers either. Many students make their first and last visit after their English 101 instructor forces them to. They get nothing out of the experience, because they didn’t care about the stupid paper anyway (by the way, here’s a tip on how to write college essays). But your writing center will probably be a lot more useful to you if you actually care about what you’re writing. And they can help with that.
Are you working on a screenplay about a wizard with MS? Working on your Computer Science thesis defense? Working on your resume? Writing tutors can help you with all of it. That’s literally their job.
And They Want to Help You
Writing centers don’t just offer tutoring either. They adapt to the writers they serve. So go to them, and ask what other services they offer. The centers I’ve worked at have offered creative writing circles where writers could share their work with other creatives. They’ve offered conversation partner programs where students new to English could practice speaking with native English speakers and learn more about American culture. And they’ve offered workshops throughout the year for things like résumé writing, personal statements, web writing, and other helpful topics.
The idea of a writing center is to be an essential tool for everyone in the college community. A place where writers of all kinds can receive feedback on whatever they may be working on. Get support for whatever they need. And be listened to. Your college definitely has a writing center. It’s services are free. Visit them. They miss you.
- North, Stephen | “The Idea of a Writing Center” | College English | 1984