Our Pedagogy                        SIUC Writing Center

What Does the Writing Center Do?     The mission of the Southern Illinois University Writing Centers is to help students from across the curriculum become better writers through sustained one-on-one work with a tutor.  The Centers' tutors neither write nor edit papers for students.  Writing Center tutors are trained to fulfill the role of facilitator, rather than teacher or proofreader. Because they do not give grades, they can act as peer guides, providing feedback and strategies to help students become better writers through fostering their independent exploration of writing strategies. Who Are the Writing Center Tutors?     The Writing Center staff consists of graduate students from the English and Linguistics departments and selected upper-level undergraduates who have completed a 400-level training course in one-to-one teaching.  In addition to the practicum course required of undergraduate tutors, new and returning tutors receive intensive training during the first two weeks of each semester.  What's more, throughout each semester tutors are trained in areas such as writing in different disciplines and tutoring non-native speakers and students with learning disabilities. What Type of Help is Available?     Through modeling and collaborative work, tutors act as facilitators to equip students with the skills necessary to improve their own writing.   They help students develop strategies for every stage of the writing process, including prewriting, drafting, revising, and editing.  Students may seek assistance as well with specific tasks such as creating resumes and personal statements, searching and evaluating online databases, documenting sources, and studying for exams.  Hand-outs are available in each of the four centers, and computers are available for word processing and internet searches during sessions. To receive help on their essays, students should come to the Centers early in the writing process, ready to work hard and take responsibility for their own projects.  A handout is available to help students prepare for a Writing Center visit (Making the Most of Your Visit). Students attending the any of the four Centers are encouraged to sign up for a regular-weekly session with the same tutor at the same time each week, but they may also be seen on a single-visit basis. As with the regular-weekly conferences, the aim of single-visit sessions is to help the students develop strategies to write more effectively. |Home|   Site sponsored by Southern Illinois University Carbondale