Welcome to the Writing Center Resource page!
The English Department truly appreciates you volunteering your time to be a peer tutor. Please see this page as both a resource as well as a place to share ideas on writing. I will do my best to keep this page updated with links to resources on being a Writing Center Tutor but should you find something that you think might help your fellow tutors, please feel free to post it to page!
In an effort to ensure that the Writing Center works to its best potential, I thought it was important to outline my expectations for you as tutors this year. Since I cannot be in the Writing Center every night, I expect you as tutors and as school leaders, to lead by example and make sure that good work is happening when you are running the Writing Center.
Expectations
- The Writing Center is not a social venue. In the past, there have been stories of students leaving study hall to go 'hang out' in the Writing Center, this will not be the case this year. The Writing Center is an academic organization that is supported and run by the English Department and should be treated as such.
- On the night that you are assigned to the Writing Center, please show up on time and remain in the Writing Center through the whole study hall. If you are unable to work on your assigned night, it is up to you to switch with another member of the Writing Center.
- Your role as a peer tutor is NOT to write other students' papers. Instead, you should see your role as a facilitator for their ideas, helping them organize and articulate them into written form. As a tutor, you serve as a resource, coach, and sounding board, not as an idea-generator or writer.
- You have your own work to do as well, so please budget your time! Conferences should last no more than 15 minutes, so establish a plan early so that you can remain focused on the text at hand.
- At the conclusion of the conference, remember to summarize the comments you have made to the student and report back to the students' teacher. Please email the teacher a brief explanation of what you discussed and where you ended your conference with the student. This is a critical step as we as teachers use your summary in reviewing our students' work.
