English 717-01
The Study of Writing:
Writing Center Theory and Practice
Fall 1998
7:00-9:50, M
325 Millett
Joe Law
Office: 052 Paul Laurence Dunbar Library
Office phone: 775-2155
E-mail: jlaw@discover.wright.edu
Office hours: 9:00-10:00 T-Th
Note: Because my responsibilities as Coordinator for Writing
Across the Curriculum occasionally require me to be away from the
office at unpredictable times, it would be wise to call ahead
even during my regular office hours. I m usually on campus
between 8:00 and 5:00, so it shouldn t be hard to arrange a time
to talk.
This syllabus and the policies outlined here will also be
available through the English department web page:
http://www.cola.wright.edu/Dept/ENG/eng.htm
REQUIRED TEXTS:
Joyce A. Kinkead and Jeanette G. Harris, eds., Writing Centers in
Context: Twelve Case Studies (Urbana: NCTE, 1993).
Christina Murphy and Joe Law, eds., Landmark Essays on Writing
Centers (Davis: Hermagoras, 1995).
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Although writing centers have been significant sites of writing
instruction in higher education since the 1930s, they have become
increasingly common with the growing diversification of student
populations in the past three decades. Those decades have seen
crucial shifts in the paradigms dominating writing instruction,
and writing center scholarship plays out the conflicts that often
emerged as these shifts were occurring. Thus, writing center
scholarship also demonstrates the gradual emergence and
professionalization of a new field within English studies, one
that combines theory, praxis, student advocacy, and writing
program administration.
This course is an introductory survey of some of the issues
associated with writing centers. Among the topics to be
addressed are the history and development of writing centers, the
pedagogical theories informing writing center work, the
politics (both personal and institutional) of writing centers,
models for developing and sustaining a writing center, assessment
issues, the scholarly literature about writing centers, the
impact of technology on writing centers, and the future of
writing centers. As the list of topics suggests, the course will
attempt to integrate the pragmatic and the theoretical.
Assignments will include seminar presentations, a profile of a
writing center in the area, and several short writing assignments
leading to the fourth-hour project. That project will be a paper
suitable for conference presentation; since the fourth National
Writing Centers Association Conference will be held at Indiana
University in April of 1999, students will be encouraged to
submit proposals for that conference.
REQUIREMENTS AND DEADLINES
1. Profile of an area writing center. 20% of course grade.
During the term you will visit a writing center in the area and
write a profile of it. The profile will be a scaled-down version
of those in Writing Centers in Context. For the sake of
consistency, I will give you a brief set of basic questions I
would like everyone to ask; in addition, you should pursue other
topics that will come up during the visit, particularly things
that distinguish that writing center from others. The written
report should be fairly brief (say, 5-7 pages), and I ll
consolidate and copy the profiles for the whole class and for
those writing centers that have participated. I ll also ask that
each of you make a 15-minute report about your visit. I have a
list of writing center directors in the vicinity who have already
agreed to take part in the project.
WRITTEN PROFILE DUE November 2
2. Seminar session. 10% of course grade. Three meetings (11/2,
11/16, 11/23) will be directed by the members of the class.
Because we cannot cover all aspects of writing center work in 10
weeks and because I want the class to be as practical as
possible, the topics for those sessions will be chosen by the
members of the class. I ll ask each of you to select a topic we
have not covered (or not covered in depth) and moderate class
discussion for roughly 30 minutes. At the meeting before your
scheduled session, provide a list of questions for us to be
thinking about and an article or chapter you would like everyone
to read for the next week. If you want to list more than one
reading, please prioritize the list. You may wish to make use of
the articles and/or anthologies on reserve for some of these
readings or ask us to read some part of the other texts with a
particular question in mind.
POSSIBLE TOPICS During the course of the seminar, any number of
suitable topics may arise, perhaps from your reading, discussions
in class, a visit to another writing center, or your own
experience in a writing center. Meanwhile, here are some
possibilities to consider: an overview of recent writing center
scholarship (trends, patterns); writing center practice and
composition theory(ies); writing center certification/accreditation;
writing centers in light of theory x ; writing centers and the politics
of tutoring; ethics and writing center tutoring; tutor training programs;
writing centers in high school (or elementary or middle schools); writing
centers and technology; writing centers and special populations (e.g.,
ESL writers, students with learning disabilities, at-risk
students, older students, etc.); writing centers and
administrative issues; writing centers and WAC; writing centers
and graduate education; contribution of a key figure (e.g.,
Muriel Harris); designing a writing center for a particular site
and institutional demands.
3. Term project. 70% of course grade (components weighted as
shown below). The final version of the project should be a paper
suitable for conference presentation. The usual length of such a
paper is approximately 10 pages (2500 words). The assignment
will be broken down into several components--an initial proposal
identifying the topic of the project; a progress report; an oral
presentation; an abstract and proposal prepared for submission to
the conference organizers; and the final written project. I ll
provide more detailed information on each item later, but here
are the dates you need to have in mind.
October 19--Proposal (5%)
November 9--Progress Report (5%)
November16 or 23--Class Presentation (10%)
November 23--Abstract and proposal (5%)
December 1--Final Document (45%)
Special accommodations: If you need course
adaptations or accommodations because of a
disability, if you have emergency medical
information to share with me, or if you need
special arrangements in case the building
must be evacuated, please make an appointment
to see me as soon as possible. We should
make adjustments at the beginning of the
course.
BOOKS ON OVERNIGHT RESERVE
Mullin, Joan, and Ray Wallace, eds. Intersections: Theory-
Practice in the Writing Center. Urbana: NCTE: 1994.
Murphy, Christina, Joe Law, and Steve Sherwood. Writing Centers:
An Annotated Bibliography. Bibliographies and Indexes in
Education 17. Westport: Greenwood, 1996.
Olson, Gary A. Writing Centers: Theory and Administration.
Urbana: NCTE, 1984.
Carino, Peter. Early Writing Centers: Toward a History.
Writing Center Journal 15.2 (1995): 103-15.
---. Open Admissions and the Construction of Writing Center
History: A Tale of Three Models. Writing Center Journal
17.1 (1996): 30-48.
Ede, Lisa. Writing Centers and the Politics of Location: A
Response to Terrance Riley and Stephen M. North. Writing
Center Journal 16.2 (1996): 111-30.
Grimm, Nancy. Contesting The Idea of a Writing Center : The
Politics of Writing Center Research. Writing Lab
Newsletter 17.1 (1992): 5-7.
---. The Regulatory Role of the Writing Center: Coming to Terms
with a Loss of Innocence. Writing Center Journal 17.1
(1996): 5-29.
Haynes-Burton, Cynthia. Hanging Your Alias on Their Scene :
Writing Centers, Graffiti, and Style. Writing Center
Journal 14.2 (1994): 112-24.
Hubbuch, Susan M. A Tutor Needs to Know the Subject Matter to
Help a Student with a Paper: _____Agree _____Disagree
_____Not Sure. Writing Center Journal 8.2 (1988): 23-30.
Leahy, Richard. Of Writing Centers, Centeredness, and
Centrism. Writing Center Journal 13.1 (1992): 43-52.
Mullin, Anne E. Improving Our Abilities to Tutor Students with
Learning Disabilities. Writing Lab Newsletter 19.3 (1994):
1-4. Also included: Baker, Tracey. LD College Writers:
Selected Readings. Writing Lab Newsletter 19.3 (1994): 5-
7.
North, Stephen M. Revisiting The Idea of a Writing Center.
Writing Center Journal 15.1 (1994): 7-19.
Nugent, Susan Monroe. One Woman s Ways of Knowing. Writing
Center Journal 10.2 (1990): 17-29.
Severino, Carol. The Doodles in Context: Qualifying Claims
about Contrastive Rhetoric. Writing Center Journal 14.1
(1993): 44-61.
---. Rhetorically Analyzing Collaboration(s). Writing Center
Journal 13.1 (1992): 53-64.
Shamoon, Linda K., and Deborah H. Burns. A Critique of Pure
Tutoring. Writing Center Journal 15.2 (1995): 134-51.
Trachsel, Mary. Nurturant Ethics and Academic Ideals:
Convergence in the Writing Center. Writing Center Journal
16.1 (1995): 24-45.
Welch, Nancy. From Silence to Noise: The Writing Center as
Critical Exile. Writing Center Journal 14.1 (1993): 1-15. Reading and Assignment Schedule
Note: The schedule is subject to change as necessary. If changes
do need to be made, I ll tell you as much in advance as I can.
9/21 Introduction to course
9/28 Writing Center History
Read Harris, Kelly, and Summerfield in Landmark Essays.
Read Carino (2 articles) in reserve materials.
10/5 Conceptualizing the Writing Center
Read Carino, Moore, and North in Landmark Essays. Read
Chapter 14 in Writing Centers in Context.
10/12 Theories of Tutoring
Read Bruffee, Ede, Lunsford, and Murphy in Landmark Essays.
Read Fitzgerald (in Intersections), Gillam (in
Intersections), Hubbuch, and Shamoon & Burns in reserve
materials.
10/19 Project Proposal due. Reconceptualizing the Writing
Center
Read Ede, Hobson (in Intersections), Grimm ( Contesting ),
North, Trachsel, and Welch in reserve materials. Read
Woolbright in Landmark Essays.
10/26 Writing Center Administration
Read Olson & Ashford-Jones, Simpson, and Simpson, Braye &
Boquet in Landmark Essays. Selected readings in
Writing Centers in Context (to be announced).
11/2 Writing Center Profile due. Seminar session on selected
topics*
11/9 Progress Report due. Writing Center Directors Forum
11/16 Seminar session on selected topics*
11/23 Conference Proposal and Abstract due. Seminar session
on selected topics*
11/30 Term projects due.
*See list of assignments for information about these sessions.
Return to Professor Law's Home Page
Return to the English Department Syllabus Page