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Writing Center Narrative

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One of the main features of the writing center narrative is the misconception of writing centers. In an essay entitled, The Idea of a Writing Center, Stephen North describes his frustrations with those not involved with writing centers. He describes the many misconceptions individuals have this entity. “Members of my profession, my colleagues … do not understand what does happen, what can happen, in a writing center” (North 63). Amongst members of the writing center community, these units are seen by others as a part of the “cleaning up” process for compositions or “remedial services” for students who have trouble writing. North noted a problem with publications given to students at his own university. The writing program was described as …show more content…

Colleges and universities subscribe to services like Smarthinking, Inc. and eTutoring where email tutoring is prevalent. Smarthinking’s website describes their Online Writing Lab as a unique service designed to assist college students to become stronger writers. Students can submit their assignments online, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and receive a “detailed, personalized critique” within 48 hours. The site also boasts, “Smarthinking is a convenient, effective, and economical way to increase your success.” By simply submitting an essay and receiving feedback from a tutor through this online service, the conversation and collaboration is lost. Muriel Harris says, “Collaboration, a process writers engage in and teachers facilitate, is firmly entrenched in our thinking about the teaching of writing” (272). Without collaboration the teaching of writing and helping students become better writers is truly …show more content…

These programs include instant message or chat features. Students email their papers to the writing center and a tutor receives the composition. During a virtual tutoring session, the student and tutor exchange messages back and forth relating to the student’s writing. Seth Reno points out a dilemma in this type of tutoring. While most students use “internet speech” or informal language when talking through cell phones, instant messages, and chats, discussing their papers using a synchronous tutoring session will be no different. “I wonder if a client truly expects to become a better writer … while conversing with Internet-speech during a virtual tutorial” (Reno 8). Reno believes the problem occurs when a student is using a language other than academic to communicate academic goals in writing; this is where the disconnect

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188 Words | 1 Pages

The author, Natalie Wexler is a one of the founders of the board of trustees for the Writing Revolution. In her article, Why Americans Can 't Write, with the advent of email, writing ability has become more important than ever, and writing deficiencies have become increasingly apparent. The writing skills have been lacking in America, and the reason is because schools have only 24% of the students in eighth and 12th grades were proficient in writing and just 3% were advanced. The exercise doesn 't provide kids with the tools they need to write analytically. The standards in middle and in high schools teachers expect students to know things.

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454 Words | 2 Pages

Through trial and error, college students are having to figure out what constitutes as acceptable writing for every one of their separate classes all on their own without their ethnic backgrounds taken into consideration. While although Dave was considered privileged because of his years of experience in classrooms that consisted of teachers and students who shared similar social backgrounds, “students from diverse communities may need… teachers in the disciplines… [to] provide them with assignments and instructional support appropriate for first steps in using the language of their community” (262) McCarthy’s findings contribute to the notion, “learning to write… is not only a developmental process that occurs within an individual student, but also as a social process, that occurs in response to particular situations” (236). Although McCarthy only documents Dave as he takes this “journey across the curriculum”, her study is addressing the college student body as a whole. She declares that the success of a student is determined not only by their intelligence, but also their ability to adapt to a wide range of social and academic settings without any negative interference towards their

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502 Words | 3 Pages

In “Does Texting Affect Writing,” essay student Michaela Cullington outlines the concerns about textspeak, and whether it hinders students formal writing abilities; she reviews her own personal research and observations, as well as expert research. Cullington is clearly preparing her readers for the topic of text messaging and textspeak in relation to formal writing by addressing the three main topics she will inquire about, “Some people believe that using… abbreviations is hindering the writing abilities of students, and others argue that texting is actually having a positive effect on writing. In fact, it seems that texting has no significant effect on student writing” (130). As Cullington reviews the conflicting stances, she analyzes each

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697 Words | 3 Pages

In her essay "Does Texting Affect Writing?", Michaela Cullington presents her argument that texting does not impact formal writing written by students. She discusses the concerns presented by many people about how texting language can transfer into writing, but through the use of personal experiences and credible sources she discusses how this is not true. Her use of multiple different studies and situations help boost her argument and allow the reader to truly see how students actually do formal writing. She presents a strong argument as to why those who believe students don't have the control and knowledge to write formally, instead of with text speak, are wrong.

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692 Words | 3 Pages

Texting is ubiquitous in modern Western society. It's a convenient way to communicate basic ideas quickly without having to commit to a phone conversation or the long wait for a letter. All of this is done through cellular phones on the go and many teenagers have subscribed to this method of communication as their primary one. When texting, it is customary to abbreviate certain words in order to save time. These abbreviations can be considered a language that evolves out of texting, and that language can be referred to as textspeak.

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944 Words | 4 Pages

In her essay “Does Texting Affect Writing?” Michaela Cullington addresses the issue of text messaging possibly causing poor communication skills and the use of textspeak, abbreviations used during text messaging such as “LOL” and “g2g,” in students’ formal writing. Cullington argues that “texting actually has a minimal effect on student writing” (pg. 367). She addresses the opposition directly, even citing credible sources. However, she also cites credible sources with better information to support her point, and even conducts an experiment of her own.

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872 Words | 4 Pages

Not So Fast” Andrea Lunsford researched students’ writing for 30-plus years to see what effect new technology has on how students learn. Lunsford discovered that students are actually improving their own writing skills with the help of mass media. Not only does it allow students more access to educational resources and information, but it also encourages students to do more creative thinking and writing outside of class which Lunsford refers to in her article as “life writing.” In her research she recalls the account of a student who sent a friend a text message which was completely informal and would be considered unprofessional by most piers. However, the same student also sent a very formal and professional report to her faculty adviser later on.

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253 Words | 2 Pages

The article by Donald Murray entitled, “The Maker’s Eye: Revising Your Own Manuscripts” provides readers a better understanding of the writing process and argues that writers learn to write, by writing and rewriting. Murray also contends that writers must learn to be their own best enemy. Well, I believe I have this trait covered! I will confess, that I purposely saved this course for last, due to the number of years between my last structured learning experience and returning to school to complete a BSN degree.

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522 Words | 3 Pages

Everyone’s An Author with Readings by Andrea Lunsford, Michal Brody, Lisa Ede, Beverly J. Moss, Carole Clark Papper, and Keith Walters; is about how everyday writing is very closely related to academic writing. This book discusses The Need for Rhetoric and Writing, Genres of Writing, The Role of Argument, Research, Style, and includes Readings. The text also bridges the gap between Facebook and academic writing, showing how some tactics students use in social media may also be used in their academic

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672 Words | 3 Pages

Not So Fast”, conducts her own study with a few colleagues to take notes on how students writing skills are changing. She decides to conduct another one twenty five years later to see how much the writing skills have changed since technology has been updated and became more available to students. She found that “students today are writing more than ever before.” Although we still have the same amount of writing errors as before, the patterns of errors are different. Many people argue that technology is only making our writing skill worse, this study helps to prove a different theory.

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755 Words | 4 Pages

As I was reading Melissa Duffy’s “Inspiration, and Craig Vetter’s “Bonehead Writing,” I found myself connecting with Vetter’s paper more than Duffy’s. I found that the presentation in “Bonehead Writing” to capture my attention, and that Vetter’s feelings about writing was similar to my opinion on writing. Through his wording and humor, I think Craig Vetter wrote the best essay. I find that the wording and presentation of an article or essay influences my opinion of the writer, and it affects how I receive the idea they are trying to present to me. Craig Vetter uses a blunt approach to convey his idea that writing is nearly impossible to teach, and describes writing as “A blood sport, a walk in the garden of agony every time out.”

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1554 Words | 7 Pages

Writing About Writing, A College Reader. Ed. Elizabeth Wardle and Doug Downs. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2011. 481-495.

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580 Words | 3 Pages

English language learners often struggle during the writing process. As educators, it is our responsibility to ensure these students receive specialized instruction to increase academic success. One strategy used in the classroom to improve student writing is peer editing. Not only is this used in a traditional setting but also in an ELL (English language learner) classroom. Some scholars question whether peer editing is effective for ELL students.

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733 Words | 3 Pages

In her study, Lunsford collected thousands of student writing samples from a five-year period, specifically from 2001-2006 (Thompson 157). The findings of her study are gripping. She found that because young people do much of their communicating via online forums, the additional keystrokes are fundamental in reviving their ability to write (Thompson 157). A whopping thirty-eight percent of all writing done by Stanford students during this study occurred outside of the classroom (Thompson 157). This piece of information alone may be indication enough that her logic was strategic.

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781 Words | 4 Pages

Writing has always been an issue but yet interesting subject of mine. As hard as I try and write essays, and papers I just can’t get the hang of writing. But after taking this class, I did learn different writing technique and improved my writing proficiency, material body of formatting, and how to uncovering and properly use sources. Through class exams, essays, and a research paper, I was able to learn new writing skills. Although I have learned a variety of things, my writing still needs improvement.

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