What even IS a Writing Center?
In short, writing centers provide tutoring or writing consultations (or in our case, reading, as well). They are often situated in colleges and universities, though some high schools and even local communities might have them, too.
What they are NOT is a copyediting service.
Essentially, writing centers are educational spaces—clients are taught how to write or edit themselves. It is quite literally the parable of “give a man a fish” versus “teach a man to fish”—we teach.
So, then, what makes up “writing center studies”?
So, so much. Writing center (WC) studies is part of the general field of “English”. When folks go to grad school to pursue “English”, they tend to fall into either Composition/Rhetoric or Literary studies. WC studies falls under Comp/Rhet. As an academic field, WCS goes back to the 1980s—we have various journals, conferences, and foundational scholars.
What do we study? Good lord, everything! Every aspect of how a person best learns to read or write, every obstacle that may be in their way, every way to train tutors, every computer program or use that may help or hinder the clients or tutors, every tool for our center spaces, accommodations and accessibility needs—this list goes on endlessly.
How do you find one? If you are a college or university student, chances are pretty high that there’s a writing center on your campus. If there isn’t one physically on campus, many universities maintain memberships in online writing centers (where meetings may occur in a Zoom-like setting or via email). If you in a high school, ask your English teacher. Many schools have some version of a center, even if it just operates one day a week.
But what about those of us NOT in school? This will depend. Some communities are beginning to offer community writing centers—in libraries or other educational spaces. Some colleges will allow community members to use their campus writing center services, or they may have another space or recommendation specific to their institution.
What do clients bring to us? Anything they’re working on! They might be struggling to get started on a new project or polishing up a finished piece. I bring all of my own articles to work with another consultant—it’s just helpful to ask, “Do I need this paragraph? Does it work right there?” or just having someone else say, “Khristeena, it’s fine. Stop messing with it.” We’ve even worked with clients on math or culinary arts when it comes to navigating textbooks or reading a syllabus.
As a concept, writing centers are odd—we can be a physical space on a campus or just an online space. We are an educational service, but we’re not in a classroom. We work with all fields, at all stages of a project, for any project, for any “level” of student/client. Such a broad client-base challenges us to constantly broaden our own skillsets, but that’s what makes the job so fun for us: every session is different and unique. Many students walk into a center almost apologetic, as though they feel bad or guilty for needing our services—but we wish they didn’t We love working with our clients! That’s what we’re here to do. :)
