Frequently Asked Questions—For UTC Faculty

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Why should I encourage students to make use of the UTC Writing Center?

If you assign writing in your course—whether a short summary or abstract or longer papers—your students will benefit from having an audience beyond the class and/or you. During the process of reading a text to a live audience, student writers often self-edit and revise for content. Further, simply having one more person respond to a text can help a writer better imagine how an intended audience may receive the piece.

 

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Will the consultants write the papers for the students?

Our consultants are trained in peer response; therefore, they use strategies to ensure that the student writer retains ownership of his/her text. In fact, consultants encourage writers to read their own papers aloud, make their own notes for revision, etc. Rather than correct or edit papers, our consultants share with writers editing and proofreading strategies and ask questions for clarification. In fact, because our consultants are students, human beings who are fallible, we emphasize our roles as audiences, rather than “experts.” Therefore, rather than simply answer a question about citation format, our consultants will show writers where and how to locate the answers to such questions: in one of our many style guides or writers’ resources.

 

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Should I send students to the center/require that they meet with a consultants?

Often, students feel punished or singled out (embarrassed) when professors send them to writing centers or other consultation services. Consequently, these students tend to come to sessions unmotivated and disengaged, answering in response to a consultant’s prompt about what they’d like to work on, “I don’t know. I’m here because my professor sent me here.”  Students in classes where professors encourage all of their students to make use of the center will come to think of seeking out peer feedback as a natural part of academic life. Thus, if throughout the semester you have repeatedly reminded your students of the UTC Writing Center, when you feel especially compelled to encourage a specific student to make use of our services, that student is more likely to feel positive about your recommendation.

 

Extra Credit: Some professors like to give extra credit to students who participate in tutoring sessions. To ensure that these sessions are interactive, we require student writers to complete a “Consultation Session Self-Assessments” form, which the consultant will sign and send back to the professor. This form is designed to help student writers reflect upon their attempts to actively participate in and get the most out of the session. Because self reflection helps writers grow, we prefer to have the student, rather than the consultant, fill out this report of the session.

 

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What types of presentations does the Writing Center staff offer?

 

 

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How do I request one of these presentations?

To request an in-class or in-center presentation, simply call the UTC Writing Center at 425-1774 or email the director: Jennifer-Beech@utc.edu

 

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Whom may I contact for feedback on designing writing assignments?

Contact:

·        Jennifer Beech, Assistant Professor of English and Director of the UTC Writing Center: Jennifer-Beech@utc.edu

·        Jane Fife, Assistant Professor of English and Coordinator of Writing Across the Curriculum: Jane-Fife@utc.edu

 

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Last revised: May 19, 2003