“To Talk, to Listen, to Write:” The Writing Center as Collaborative Core for Creation, Conversation and Community in Times of Crisis
Our writing center’s expansion into these communal writing initiatives has met with an energized response from both local and global participants, including composition colleagues from Champaign-Urbana to Cape Town. Whether joining our writing series from Beirut or abroad, many who write with us do so often, vocally appreciative of the shared time and space for writing together online. And just as often, faithful weekly attendees and first timers alike find their way to vibrant, essential writing which brings to vivid life their experience, even when challenged with loss and grief.
Rewind & Reset: Whose Voices are Heard? A Demographic Comparison of Authors Published in WLN 2005-2017 and Writers Interested in Publishing
This month's "Rewind and Reset" piece comes from the March/April 2021 issue of WLN. This piece by Elizabeth Kleinfeld, Sohui Lee, and Julia Prebel reports on two surveys, one of writing center workers interested in publishing and another of those who have published in WLN. The study reveals the homogeneity of WLN authors in terms of the institutions they work at, their positions, and their race. The authors conclude that "the lack of diversity in our field is affecting both professional membership and writing center scholarship."
Toward a Writing Center in Uganda: The Proposal Stage
Here is the third installment of a series by Dr. Tom Deans (University of Connecticut) in which he is documenting his experience starting a writing center at Uganda Christian University (UCU). In this piece, Deans shares the plan under consideration, which follows on months of consultations with administrators and writing instructors.
Episode 4 – Violeta Molina-Natera on Writing Centers in Latin America
To wrap up Season 2 of Slow Agency, we chatted with Dr. Violeta Molina-Natera to learn about writing centers in Latin America. She is the director of Javeriano Writing Center at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana Cali in Colombia, and former president of Latin American Writing Centers and Programs Association. To wrap up Season 2 of Slow Agency, we chatted with Dr. Violeta Molina-Natera to learn about writing centers in Latin America. She is the director of Javeriano Writing Center at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana Cali in Colombia, and former president of Latin American Writing Centers and Programs Association. Violeta was one of the featured speakers at the 2021 IWCA conference this October.
Episode 3 – Jose Lai and Allen Ho on WAC and the Peer Tutoring Scheme at the Chinese University of Hong Kong
For the third episode of Slow Agency Season 2, we invited Dr. Jose Lai and Dr. Allen Ho, who introduced the Peer Tutoring Scheme as part of their English Across the Curriculum effort at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. For those who are in the process of conceptualizing, starting, or implementing WAC/EAC initiatives in your institution, we hope you find this episode inspiring! To learn more about the Peer Tutoring Scheme, check out our latest global spotlight piece written by Dr. Lai.
Intangible and Interactive Writing Center – Peer Tutoring Scheme @ The Chinese University of Hong Kong
We would like to thank Dr. Jose Lai for introducing us to the Peer Tutor Scheme at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Check out Slow Agency Season 2 Episode with Dr. Lai and her colleague, Dr. Allen Ho to learn more about their efforts in localizing writing center praxis!
Two of the WLN Editors Respond to Aspiring Editor’s Questions
In this feature piece, two of the WLN journal editors, Karen Johnson and Ted Roggenbuck, respond to some questions raised by a group of students who were taking an editing class. Their answers not only reveal unique opportunities and issues for editors across fields but also demonstrate the collaborative spirit that the WLN editorial team embodies. We give special thanks to Cara, McKenna, Margaret, and Stefano, and to Drs. Johnson and Roggenbuck for collaborating and bringing this article and its ideas to life.
Rewind & Reset: Making Assignment Prompts More Effective: Can Writing Center Tutors Help?
In this month's Rewind & Reset, we present you "Making Assignment Prompts More Effective: Can Writing Center Tutors Help?" from WLN May/June 2020 Issue. The co-authors, Erin Zimmerman and Emma Moghabghab, shared with us two WAC/WID projects: one focused on training tutors in preparation for collaboration with instructors, and the other in which tutors and instructors collaborated on revising assignment prompts.
American University at Beirut Writing Center
Founded in 1866, the American University of Beirut (AUB) is a teaching-centered research university chartered in New York with its campus in Beirut, Lebanon. While AUB operates in the English language as aforementioned, the tutoring sessions run in both Arabic and English languages.
Congratulations! College of Charleston’s Writing Lab Consultant Wins National Award
The National Student Employment Association (NSEA) has selected Mollie Bowman, Writing Lab consultant from the College of Charleston’s Writing Lab as one of the nineteen best student employees of the country. Mollie is also the only writing consultant on the list. Congratulations, Mollie!
From Jillie Alexander: My Journey: From Perfectionist Hokie to Gracious Writing Coach
“What’s your biggest flaw?” “My perfectionism.” Thankfully, my perfectionism has slowly begun to transition with my journey to become a Writing Coach. After 19 years of perfectionism that leads to disappointment and self-degradation, being enrolled in the training course for new writing coaches at Virginia Tech has been a breath of fresh air.
Listen to Season 3 of Slow Agency
Hi there. Season 3 is here! We're releasing the episodes all at once for your enjoyment. Our theme for this season is conversations around books and/or edited collections. We recorded with Noreen Lape, Joe Essid and Brian McTague, and Susan Lawrence and Terry Myers Zawacki in Fall 2021. The topics range from multilingual writing centers, to writing center at the center of change, and to approaches to support graduate students in the writing center.
Announcements & Upcoming Events
Tutor’s Perspectives
“What’s your biggest flaw?”
“My perfectionism.”
Thankfully, my perfectionism has slowly begun to transition with my journey to become a Writing Coach. After 19 years of perfectionism that leads to disappointment and self-degradation, being enrolled in the training course for new writing coaches at Virginia Tech has been a breath of fresh air.
Locate our international colleagues from all over the world!
It’s been a learning experience. The writing center community remains tight knit in the online space. We hold hands and provide each other emotional support. Writing camps have gone virtual for now. Let’s keep reflecting upon our collective experiences.
