Group items tagged

A large collection of handouts from Monash University. Topics range from general writing guides to style guides for writing across the disciplines

WriteCast: A Casual Conversation for Serious Writers. 10-minute episodes on writing process and concerns such as thesis, audience, paragraphs.

WriteCast: A Casual Conversation for Serious Writers is a monthly podcast on academic writing produced by the Walden University Writing Center.

The present study aims to investigate the extent to which L2 learners' individual differences (field dependency and writing motivation) predict their retention of a teacher's written corrective feedback (CF) in the short and in the long run. Using Ellis's (2010) theoretical framework, the study examines the issue from cognitive and affective perspectives. Data was collected from 127 intermediate-level university students through written essays, a field-dependence/independence (FDI) questionnaire, and a writing motivation questionnaire, which were analyzed through t test, ANOVA, and multiple regression. The results reveal that there is a strong relationship between field independence (FI) style and the students' successful short-term and long-term retention of corrections in the subsequent writings. Writing motivation, however, influences the short-term retention of CF only.

Kyle Bell graduated from the State University of New York College at Plattsburgh in the spring of 2014. He has embarked on an accelerated B.A./M.A. TESOL from Stony Brook University. In "Multiliteracy Memes," Bell uses memes and PowerPoint to challenge common misconceptions about The Claude J. Clark Learning Center and about tutoring.

E. Marin Smith is a graduate student in the Department of English at California State Polytechnic University San Luis Obispo. Her interest in Eastern religious philosophy began while she was teaching English in Kathmandu, Nepal where she studied Hinduism, and later while teaching in Japan and studying Zen Buddhism.

Kristin Cole at the University of Texas at Austin and Sue Mendelsohn at the University of Texas at Austin discuss the use of rhetoric in consulting sessions.

a report from Cs on materials development; a report from Cs on "Writing Lab Possibilities as the Small College/University; a discussion of staffing (undergrad, grad peers; professional; faculty; self-instruction) for materials-centered vs. student-centered labs (i.e. the difference between teaching more students with fewer staff vs. offering one-on-one support); a 4Cs report on "Setting up a Writing Lab";

Gabrielle Seeley University of Colorado at Colorado Springs From Praxis: "A writing center consultant explores strategies for empowering students writers. When I began training to work in the Writing Center at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs (UCCS), I perceived it to be an inherently feminist learning space."

Jessica MurrayFlorida Atlantic University From Praxis: "When ESL writers write, they are attempting to be heard in an academic community. One of the academy's shortcomings is its disinclination to hear from writers who struggle with academic discourse. In a contact zone, such as a university that includes accomplished and novice academics, communication becomes a casualty (particularly with novices whose first language is not English)."

"The Writing Instructor is a peer-reviewed journal publishing in print since 1981 and on the Internet since June, 2001. Its distinguished editorial board consists of over 150 scholars- teachers- writers representing over 75 universities, community colleges, and K-12 schools. For more information about acceptance rates, the anonymous peer-review process, guidelines for review committees, and the editorial board, please read our Editorial FAQs or contact us."

"An Interactive Guide to Understanding and Avoiding Plagiarism" with a quiz, put together by Monmouth University Library

"Promotional and educational video about the Georgia Southern University Writing Center, written and produced by Xavier Best and Efadul Huq for Dr. Michael Pemberton's "Tutoring Writing" class, Spring 2010. Part I."

discussing countries outside of the U.S/Canada where universities support writing centers

"Post-secondary writing centers have struggled to produce substantial, credible, and sustainable evidence of their impact in the educational environment. The objective of this study was to develop a college-level writing self-efficacy scale that can be used across repeated sessions in a writing center, as self-efficacy has been identified as an important construct underlying successful writing and cognitive development. A 20-item instrument (PSWSES) was developed to evaluate writerly self-efficacy. 505 university students participated in the study. Results indicate that the PSWSES has high internal consistency and reliability across items and construct validity, which was supported through a correlation between tutor perceptions of client writerly self-efficacy and client self-ratings. Factor analysis revealed three factors: local and global writing process knowledge, physical reaction, and time/effort. Additionally, across repeated sessions, the clients' PSWSES scores appropriately showed an increase in overall writerly self-efficacy. Ultimately, this study offers a new paradigm for conceptualizing the daily work in which writing centers engage, and the PSWSES offers writing centers a meaningful quantitative program assessment avenue by (1) redirecting focus from actual competence indicators to perceived competence development and (2) allowing for replication, causality, and sustainability for program improvement. "

University of Washington's School of Law lists writing guides for legal writing

Basic tutor training video from the Thompson River University Writing Centre. Includes mock tutorial session.

This video promotes the Writing Center at the University of New Hampshire by describing its purpose and resources, the function of its assistants, and the process of making an appointment.

This open-access book is a collection of twenty-two articles provides practical information on establishing a writing center and monitoring its daily operation. Born of the practical experiences and theoretical insights of editor Pam (Farrell) Childers, it addresses "problems and frustrations, shares successes and failures, and offers suggestions. In general, it addresses the issue of establishing and maintaining a successful high school writing lab/center. It also provides college and university writing lab/center directors with insight into what the high schools are doing." The Table of Contents is listed on this page, and the whole book is free to download through the WAC Clearninghouse link provided here.

Bell, Diana C., Holly Arnold, and Rebekah Haddock. "Linguistic Politeness in Peer Tutoring." The Learning Assistance Review 14.1 (2009): 36-54. From abstract: "use[s] politeness theory to analyze the developing tutorial relationship between students and peer tutors in a university writing center" (36).

ABSTRACT: "This paper reports the results of a study comparing the interactional dynamics of face-to-face and on-line peer-tutoring in writing by university students in Hong Kong. Transcripts of face-to-face tutoring sessions, as well as logs of on-line sessions conducted by the same peer-tutors, were coded for speech functions using a system based on Halliday's functional-semantic view of dialogue.Results show considerable differences between the interactional dynamics in on-line and face-to-face tutoring sessions. In particular, face-to-face interactions involved more hierarchal encounters in which tutors took control of the discourse, whereas on-line interactions were more egalitarian, with clients controlling the discourse more. Differences were also found in the topics participants chose to focus on in the two modes, with issues of grammar, vocabulary, and style taking precedence in face-to-face sessions and more "global" writing concerns like content and process being discussed more in on-line sessions." "