51吃瓜 Writing Center
Faculty Resources
WE VALUE OUR FACULTY RELATIONSHIPS. We work hard to align our writing center practice with current research and with the expectations of 51吃瓜 faculty. Conversations about your assignments, your help promoting our services, and your participation in our activities make our work stronger.
This page is for you!
Help us out!
FACULTY PROMOTION is the #1 way students learn about our services.
The 51吃瓜 Writing Center is available in-person (L- 321鈥揗V Campus) and ONLINE to all 51吃瓜 students.
Get one-to-one assistance with your writing from trained peer writing Consultants (tutors). We can help at any step in the writing process鈥搖nderstanding an assignment, planning/pre-writing, drafting, revision, or editing鈥搊n any aspect of your writing鈥揻ocus, structure, organization, style, grammar, or documentation.
IN THE CENTER (L-321): Drop in for one-to-one writing consultations, writing tools and resources, workshops, and quiet writing space.
For current hours, see our Canvas Site for Students or check our website.
ONLINE: Make an appointment for an online session at .
- Meet with a Consultant in our online space for a 鈥�Real-time鈥� (synchronous) session.
- Submit a draft for focused written feedback in a 鈥淔eedback鈥� (asynchronous) session.
We are a peer center.
Our Consultants are current or recently graduated 51吃瓜 students; they know what it's like to take classes at 51吃瓜!
Our services are free!
Join our CANVAS Site for Students
for resources and up-to-date information:
Visit our website:
Questions? Contact us at svc.writingcenter@skagit.edu
- Bring your class to the Center for a brief (10-minute) orientation and to see our welcoming space, OR a Consultant can visit your class to do a quick orientation.
- If your class is online, a Consultant could pop into a session for an orientation.
Please consider offering students extra credit for Writing Center sessions. This can be a great 鈥減ush鈥� to get students in.
- Our system provides a place for students to indicate that they want their instructor notified. (Otherwise, our lips are sealed.)
- Instructor notifications are sent out via email weekly.
(Reminder: We ask that students NOT be required to attend the Writing Center鈥搕hanks!)
Have your students join our Canvas Site for Students for immediate, ongoing access to all our resources, announcements, and updated information.
- Post this link and/or QR code in your class Canvas site:
Print, post, or post in your Canvas site our promo flyer.
Import our materials into your Canvas site.
In the Canvas Commons, search for 鈥�51吃瓜 Writing Center鈥� to find us.
- 鈥�51吃瓜 Writing Center Introduction & orientation鈥� module includes a description of our services, two orientation videos, our full list of FAQ鈥檚, and quick links to our website. Two 3-question鈥淭rue/False鈥� quizzes are also included to incentivize students to pay close attention to the material.
- 51吃瓜 Writing Center Introduction & orientation page is one page of basic information about the Writing Center (including orientation videos), perfect for any class that requires writing.
51吃瓜 Writing Center Writing Guides is the complete (but always growing!) collection of Writing Guides, which cover topics
from understanding assignments to using documentation
Do you have a student you think would be a good fit for our team? Faculty recommendations have consistently been our best source for finding excellent Writing Center Consultants.
We are interested in applicants from all disciplines who represent the rich variety of the 51吃瓜 student body.
Please send the names of any student you believe would be a good fit. (The qualifications are below.) We can double-check their basic qualifications (age, completion of ENGL& 101, and GPA). If we are hiring, we will contact any that meet the criteria to invite them to apply. (Feel free to check with us first to see if we are actively recruiting.)
You can also direct students to the "Apply to be a Consultant" page of our website for the full position description.
Criteria:
Above all, Consultants must demonstrate
- academic achievement and good writing skills
- intellectual curiosity
- respect for and interest in the ideas of others, and
- an ability to establish rapport and communicate clearly and easily with fellow students.
(If you are teaching online, we know it鈥檚 not as easy to gauge student interaction in online courses, but your recommendations are still our strongest starting place.)
Other helpful resources
For many reasons, the peer tutor model is not only the most viable, but has distinct benefits for those seeking writing assistance.
An important component the one-to-one model central to writing centers is the tutor-student structure, and writing centers in institutions of all levels use peer tutors. Gillespie and Kail (2006) declared that 鈥淧eer tutoring in writing instruction has earned a well-respected place in higher education鈥he systematic and now widespread employment of students to help each other become better writers has achieved the status of conventional practice.鈥�
The peer-tutor model is good for students; it鈥檚 good for tutors; and it鈥檚 affordable.
For the full discussion (with references), click here.
Check out this video from Bedford/St. Martin's, "Beyond the Red Ink: Teachers' comments through students' eyes
University of Michigan's Sweetland Center for Writing provides many support resources for teaching writing or using writing assignments in your classes. Here is a selection:
