Drawing the Compositional Lines in Consultations
/Managing Editor Sarah Riddick reflects on supporting the creative process as a consultant.
Read MoreA Writing Center Journal
What happens when we write? Why do we teach writing the way we do? How does writing education engage with questions of race, gender, accessibility, and cultural difference? How does the writing center function as an interdisciplinary space?
Axis extends the writing center conversation from Praxis, our peer reviewed scholarly journal, into a public forum. Exploratory, experimental, and informative, the blog speaks to questions on the cutting edge of writing center theory and practice. Axis features writing from undergraduate and graduate educators at the University of Texas at Austin, and guest writers from universities across the United States.
Managing Editor Sarah Riddick reflects on supporting the creative process as a consultant.
Read MoreA former Praxis managing editor ruminates on the new Blade Runner film, memory, and the act of writing.
Read MoreImage by TeroVesalainen from Pixabay
Apologies for this week's blog post title. Like many other people across the globe, I was utterly absorbed by the premiere of Star Trek: Discovery last night and am still recovering.
Lately, I have been thinking a lot about the place of directive versus non-directive tutoring in writing center consultations. As it has been with every other Praxis editor, I began my time at the UWC as a consultant. Though my days are now full of article proofs, lengthy e-mail chains about proper MLA formatting, and conference-related considerations (such as IWCA in November), I once spent my time working with students one-on-one, helping them to improve their writing projects and processes however I could. Oftentimes, I felt constrained by the core writing center principle of non-directive guidance; a good deal of recent writing center research deals with this point of tension and its relationship to both language acquisition and identity politics (e.g. Horner et al., Canagarajah, etc.). We have even published some excellent work on these topics and similar intersections of theory and practice, such as Beatrice Mendez Newman's piece on tutoring translingual writers.
Indeed, it seems as though our field is experiencing something of a sea change when it comes to balancing tried-and-true principles with an increased awareness of the populations our centers serve. So, with that in mind, what struggles have YOU experienced when trying to balance a non-directive tutoring approach with the exigencies presented by different student populations and assignment types? Feel free to chime in below, in the comments section.
"Writing varies across cultures and languages, and I love helping students feel like they can succeed in the particular writing culture we primarily support (i.e., one that is based in US academic culture and the English language) while also learning about their own cultures and existing writing practices.
Read MoreFace front, true believers!
Alejandro here, with a few items of interest for our loyal readers:
That's all from me for now, folks. In the meantime, enjoy the new semester, stay out of the heat, and keep those pencils sharpened.
UT Graduate and Undergraduate consultant Hilary Langberg explains effective strategies for encouraging ELL students in using articles.
Read MoreGraduating consultant Meredith Furgerson reflects on the importance of working with students from different linguistic backgrounds.
Read MoreThis week, Dr. Candis Bond tells us all about the Augusta University Writing Center in Augusta, GA!
Read MoreIn a guest-authored post, Noor Pervez (UT Dallas) walks us through the intersections of tutor training and forensics.
Read More"Don’t split infinitives. Never end a sentence with a preposition. The Oxford comma. Comma splices. After a few minutes, we’d compiled a list of rules as long as the other two, and perhaps could have easily filled one of the other whiteboards in the learning lab."
Read MoreAssistant Program Coordinator Pax Gutierrez-Neal recounts the University Writing Center's part in this year's Explore UT event.
Read MoreThough my strong writers will nod agreeably when I explain how writing is a process—and how this process will often lead to failure before success—they still seem to believe that perfect papers can spring forth from nothing like Athena from Zeus’ brow.
Read MoreAlejandro reflects on his time at SCWCA '17 in Edinburg, Texas.
Read MoreHow do we get students to see past the writing center as "penalty box"?
Read More"Aside from doing my best to make sure that Praxis remains a high-quality journal, I’m just excited to learn about writing center theory/pedagogy and the inner workings of academic publishing."
Read More"Collaboration is key at a community college, as I know it is elsewhere in higher education for writing center administrators."
Read MoreIn this week's Axis blog post, we preview a few of the articles from our upcoming special issue!
Read MoreIn search of some podcasts to fill travel time over the holidays? You're in luck!
Read More"I am grateful, then, that writing centers force us to confront the unbridgeable distance between individual lives. To preserve that distance instead of attempting to collapse it. To regard that distance as a friend, not an enemy. In a world riddled with dehumanizing forces, it’s one of the most humanizing things we can do."
Read MoreOne month until issue 14.1! Managing editor James Garner talks a bit about how the issue came about and reflects on the importance of graduate student services in writing centers.
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