Organization & Collaboration: What Makes A Writing Center Work

This weeks readings and class discussions were chiefly about how the organizational dynamic, the writing center staff, and client expectations effect the success of writing centers.

The present methods and models of Writing Centers have been informed by analysis of history and an assimilation of knowledge from various disciplines that have allowed us to cultivate a strong user-centered experience. As we learn more and as related disciplines advance, we should always be prepared to make positive adaptations.

The readings gave us a sense of history about how writing centers used to work. It was more common decades ago for there to be applied remedial models to help improve writing. It made the erroneous assumption that those who have writing challenges have some kind of learning impairment. It worked off an equally false assumption that there are certain writing processes and practices that must be employed and that work for every person. Most newer models assume that every writer has strengths that can be accessed to help people develop writing processes and habits that work for them.

The writings and the class discussions talked a lot about what a writing consultant should and should not be. Many clients have assumptions about the writing center that leads them to believe that the writing center experience isn't interactive. It is almost a cliché among the MSU Writing Center Staff that students seek to drop-off papers while Writing Center consultants proofread and edit their papers into perfection. In reality, it is an interactive process where the client and the consultant collaborate with one another to diagnose and address challenges and develop solutions to those challenges.

The organization of the writing center, the writing center staff, and also writer needs and expectations are each factors that guide and determine the success of writing centers.