WILL PUT THIS INTO MY OWN WORDS AND PUT UP PICTURES OF THE WRITING CENTER AND POSSIBLY OF CONSULTATIONS. STEAL PICS FROM WRITING CENTER WEBSITE, MAYBE?
Michelle Compton: Tutor
Have you ever had a consultation with a creative writing piece? How often does this occur? What types of writing do you most encounter? What is the overall quality of this writing?
I rarely ever work on creative writing pieces in the writing center; especially the first type that come to mind, such as poems, novellas, etc. I would say that I've only worked with creative pieces twice or so since I started in Fall 2013. I do, however, occasionally work with students on hypothetical situations used in their writing. For instance, their professor will ask them to write a lab report as if they were working on a particular place in a particular time with particular details, but use concepts that they have learned in class. Those occur a little bit more frequently. I get maybe one or two of those in a month. The writing in these pieces depends, but often suffers because the student isn't quite used to assignments like that. This especially occurs when the student is from some type of science field; students in these fields are typically much more comfortable writing standard lab reports rather than having a creative twist to it.
What types of students are submitting writing? What kind of help did these students want? Why did they come to the writing center as opposed to someplace else? Have any of these students returned? Why or why not?
- By this 2nd question, I think you have transitioned on to our clients more generally. Here at the writing center we work with a lot of grad students, especially international ones. We also work with freshmen a lot, and I have personally worked with several people applying to graduate or professional programs such as law school, med school, grad school, etc. International grad students typically want help with grammar and syntax, rather than help with their content. Every now and then, they will want to work on more structural issues such as transitions, flow, etc. Freshmen tend to use our sources for having someone proofread their work, as well as to check and make sure they are following the assignment guidelines. Structural Issues like intros, conclusions, transitions, etc. are also a pretty big area for them. As for the people applying to further their education, they are often faced with writing things like personal statements and CVs that they may have never encountered before. These people come to the writing center in the hopes that someone here will have experience and be able to guide them in the right direction. I think most of our clients come here as a result of recommendations from either other students, professors, or other resources like the career center. We do have many returning clients, especially international grad students. They mostly return because they are constantly working on new projects and are always trying to polish their writing to make it sound like that of a native speaker. Freshmen do return, but typically on a less regular basis. This is likely for a couple reasons, namely that they are much more likely to procrastinate on major assignments, which they also have less of.
Why do you think more students don’t come to the writing center? What can we do to increase the number of creative students in the writing center? Should we?-
I think more students don't come to the writing center for lack of experience and understanding of how helpful it can be. I think one way that we could maybe improve this is by sending a group of consultants to a class on rough draft days and have the students work with the consultants for mini appointments (10-15 min maybe). Then the students would be able to see what an outside reviewer is able to help them with in their paper. The only problem with this idea is that we're already understaffed, and it's hard to spare enough people to go to enough classes to make a difference. As for creative writing students, I think most of them are already really comfortable with their writing. However, if we stressed to creative writing classes that no piece of work is ever perfect, and that you can always benefit by having another eye look over your work, we may be able to increase their population in the writing center.
Cristy: Writing Tutor
How often do you view creative pieces? What sort of creative writing do you usually encounter? What is the overall quality of this writing?
I don't view creative pieces often. I've never had anyone bring in poetry or fiction, although I have looked at some creative nonfiction. When I encounter creative nonfiction, it is usually a personal narrative or a research piece that includes sections of personal memoir. When clients include personal memoir, it always makes their pieces much richer and I've noticed that the quality of their writing is very high. I assume that these students only chose to add personal elements into their papers because that is one of their strong suits. Personal narratives are usually more across the board. A lot of introductory writing classes require personal narratives now, so I will see some high quality pieces and other pieces that need a lot of help. Usually grammar is a big issue, but many students also have trouble being detailed and "showing" rather than "telling."
What types of students are submitting creative work? What kind of help did these students want?
I've seen a few graduate students submitting creative nonfiction, especially if they come from the English department. I also see a lot of WRD/CIS 110 and WRD/CIS 111 students come in with personal narratives. The graduate students I've worked with usually want to make sure that their personal anecdotes are organized well and flow nicely with the rest of the paper. I have also had some people ask for advice on how to expand the creative sections further. As for the freshman undergraduates who bring in personal narratives, they are usually concerned with grammar and occasionally they have concerns about the overall organization of their papers. Normally, they aren't concerned with the actual content of their paper.
Why did they come to the writing center? Have any of these students returned? Why or why not? Why do you think more students don’t come to the writing center?
A lot of undergraduates with personal narratives come to the writing center because their teachers tell them to or because they are afraid of getting a bad grade due to too many grammar mistakes. The graduate students I see genuinely want to become better writers. Usually, the students do not return because their projects are shorter and can be covered in just one session. I think there are several reasons I don't see more creative pieces in the writing center. Most creative writing classes are structured as workshops with peer reviews, so students might already have plenty of people to look over their writing. Also, people often take creative writing classes because they genuinely enjoy writing and feel confident about writing. This kind of attitude makes it much easier for someone to write, and without the pressure or fear of getting a bad grade, I don't think they are as compelled to come see us.
What can we do to increase the number of creative students in the writing center? Should we?
Maybe we could encourage creative writing teachers to suggest that students come to the writing center. We could also advertise more clearly that we look at all types of writing, including creative writing. Since many of our consultants are creative writers, we could more clearly share our areas of expertise. Since lots of creative writers already have writing workshops, I don't think we really need to increase the number of creative students who come to the writing center, but we should certainly be welcoming to them.
