Category: Writing Centers

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Chasing after an Emerging Genre: Creating a Writing Center Workshop on Diversity Statements

Diversity and Inclusion, Tutor Publications, Writing Center Tutors, Writing Center Workshops, Writing Centers

By Antonio Byrd—As this academic year’s assistant director for the UW-Madison Writing Center, I teach a few sections out of more than 70 sections of free non-credit workshops in academic writing for undergraduate and graduate students. The Writing Center has offered these workshops since its inception in 1969, and I’m proud to have contributed to this stellar history by creating a new workshop this year simply called “Writing Diversity Statements for the Academic Job Market.” […]

November 6, 2017
Castle like building with text overlaying it stating, "Defending what matters: Understanding and Enhancing the Impact of Educational Development" and "POD Conference"

Writing Center Outreach and Leading from the Middle

Higher Education, Outreach, Technology, Writing Across the Curriculum, Writing Centers

By Angela J. Zito  Last week, the Professional and Organizational Development (POD) Network held its annual conference in Montreal, Quebec, where the keynote speaker Randy Bass called upon all of us in attendance (and the programs and institutions we represented) to help steer higher education in the direction of increasingly inclusive and integrated learning by […]

October 31, 2017
A female student looks at a collection of study abroad posters.

Increasing Intercultural Competence through Consultant Education

Multilingual Writers, Writing Center pedagogy, Writing Centers

By Christa Tiernan and Kelly Wenig  The recent upsurge in international student enrollment in American public research universities has prompted us to think about the adaptability of writing centers during periods of changing university demographics. How do writing centers respond to enrollment trends? Let there be no mistake: the demographics of American public research universities […]

October 23, 2017
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Let’s Chat: Considering “Friendly Talk” in the Writing Center

Tutor Publications, Tutorial Talk and Methods, Writing Center pedagogy, Writing Center Tutors, Writing Centers

By Tori Thompson Peters Last year, I had several appointments with an advanced writer named Linda Park who was working on an article for publication about language and cultural barriers in our healthcare system. As we were discussing the project, Linda explained to me that even though she was studying communication between doctors and patients with […]

October 9, 2017
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Writing Group as Community: The Case of DePaul’s Writers Guild

Tutor Publications, Writing Centers, Writing Groups

 By Jen Finstrom and Matthew Fledderjohann  Jen Finstrom and Matthew Fledderjohann served together as graduate assistants and then professional staff at DePaul University’s University Center for Writing-based Learning (UCWbL) for four years. During that time, Jen began in her capacity as a facilitator for Writers Guild—the UCWbL’s creative writers’ writing group—and Matthew was a regular […]

September 18, 2017
The plaque on Bascom Hall that reads “Whatever may be the limitations which trammel inquiry elsewhere, we believe that the great state university of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.”

Writing with Evidence in the Age of Alternative Facts

Collaborative Learning, Writing Across the Curriculum, Writing Center Workshops, Writing Centers

By Leah Pope Parker—Conversations about evidence in writing center pedagogy traditionally focus on the genre of the research paper, where evidence includes the ideas, data, and quotations located through research that must be incorporated effectively into the prose of the paper. However, if we think about evidence more broadly within writing center teaching, as any aspect of writing that claims the authority of truth or expertise […]

September 11, 2017
Total solar eclipse

The Tutoring Corona: New Perspectives on Professional Development for Tutors

From the Director, Updates, Writing Centers

By Bradley Hughes—The staff of the Writing Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison warmly welcomes you to our blog for a new academic year! As in many other parts of the US, on August 21st eclipse fever touched many of us here in Madison, Wisconsin. In southern Wisconsin, the eclipse was, alas, not total—just about 85%. Even though it was cloudy that day in Madison, I joined a number of colleagues who had spontaneously gathered at the peak, […]

September 5, 2017
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Honoring Tutor Excellence at UW-Madison’s Writing Center, Spring 2017

Awards and Honors, Collaborative Learning, From the Director, Tutorial Talk and Methods, Writing Centers

By Brad Hughes  It’s graduation and award time, and the Writing Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is delighted to honor two of our wonderful tutor colleagues, who are the recipients of our first annual teaching awards for graduate teaching assistants on our Writing Center staff. Every semester there are between 45 and 50 doctoral-level […]

May 8, 2017
Reading glasses on a dirt ground

Searching for a Writing Center Assistant Coordinator: 1 Job, 2 Views, 8 Months

Writing Center Staff, Writing Centers

By Margaret Mika and Daniel Harrigan  The end of the semester—and graduation—is in sight, which means job hunting and job hiring may lie directly ahead.  Some writing center directors may be re-filling an established professional assistant’s position or hiring a full-time assistant for the first time.  Meanwhile, experienced tutors may be eyeing job ads for […]

April 24, 2017