Support for Writing Instruction

Welcome! Please browse the content below for more information regarding Writing Center classroom support. Here, you can find additional resources such as syllabus blurbs, resource links, video presentations, and more. For help with any specific questions or concerns regarding writing center services, please reach out to Patrick Johnson, Writing Center Director.

We look forward to supporting the writing goals of you and your students!

Consultants working together at a table in the allendale knowledge market

Quick Links

Looking to include Writing Center information on your syllabus? We provide examples of a syllabus blurb about writing center support. You can also share our Writing Center hours and locations by downloading our plugger.
For more information about Writing Across the Curriculum, feel free to visit the SWS Website, as well.
The mission of the Writing Center is to meet not only the needs of students, but those of all writers across the university. In order to attract a strong community of faculty/staff writers, we offer a number of services for use in their classrooms and with their own writing.
Click the link to view our Scholarly Writing Initiatives for Faculty & Staff flier. This will provide more details on ways in which the Writing Center aims to support Faculty/Staff writers at GVSU. Feel free to print a copy for your office, a colleague, or save it to your computer for future reference.

Additional Links and Resources

IN THE CLASSROOM

Bringing Consultants Into Your Classroom

Consultant Qualifications

Consultants in WRT 120/130 & WRT 150

Encouraging Students to Use the Writing Center

Syllabus Blurb

Resources:

Consultant Classroom Support Options

Teaching a section of WRT 120, 130, or 150? View the chart on the right in order to see your current classroom Writing Consultant support options. For any questions or ideas regarding Writing Center Support for your First Year Writing course, contact us! We would be happy to help brainstorm ideas and walk through ways that Writing Consultants can assist the student authors in your class.

WRT 120 (In-Person)

For each in-person section of WRT 120, please choose one of the following:

Option 1
- A weekly, embedded writing consultant in lab or traditional classroom
Option 2
- A weekly, embedded writing consultant in lab or traditional classroom
- Up to three 50-minute workshops with consultants to be completed by the end of midterms (October 11^th)
Option 3
- Four 50-minute workshops with consultants to be completed by November 15^th
Option 4
- Two 50-minute workshops with consultants to be completed by November 15^th
- One class presentation about Writing Center services to be completed by October 11^th
- One required one-to-one Writing Center consultation for each student (synchronous or asynchronous)

Note: We ask that workshops be scheduled on the same days (i.e. a Tuesday/Thursday class would only schedule workshops on Tuesdays or Thursdays rather than varying days).

For scheduling purposes, weekly embedded consultants and workshops are 50-minutes and start at the top of the hour. If your section starts at half past the hour, embedded consultants and workshops will start at that time and be for 45 minutes.

WRT 120 (Online)

All online sections of WRT 120 must include:

An online presentation about Writing Center services (synchronous or asynchronous)
Two (or three) 50-minute workshops with consultants to be completed by November 15th (synchronous or asynchronous)
One required one-to-one Writing Center consultation for each student (synchronous or asynchronous)

Note: We ask that synchronous workshops be scheduled on the same days (i.e. a Tuesday/Thursday class would only schedule workshops on Tuesdays or Thursdays rather than varying days)

For scheduling purposes, workshops are 50-minutes and start at the top of the hour. If your section starts at half past the hour, workshops will start at that time and be for 45 minutes.

WRT 130 & WRT 150 (In-Person)

For your course, please choose one of the following options:

Option 1
- A weekly, embedded writing consultant in lab or traditional classroom
Option 2
- A weekly, embedded writing consultant in lab or traditional classroom
- Up to three 50-minute workshops with consultants to be completed by the end of midterms (October 11^th)

Notes: We ask that workshops be scheduled on the same days (i.e. a Tuesday/Thursday class would only schedule workshops on Tuesdays or Thursdays rather than varying days)

WRT 130 & WRT 150 (Online)

For your online course, please choose one of the following options:

Option 1
- One weekly writing consultant for 50 minutes of online support
- Up to three 50-minute workshops with consultants to be completed by October 11^th
Option 2
- Four 50-minute workshops with consultants to be completed by November 15^th
Option 3
- Two 50-minute workshops with consultants to be completed by November 15th
- An online presentation about Writing Center services to be completed by October 11th (synchronous or asynchronous)
- One required one-to-one Writing Center consultation for each student (synchronous or asynchronous)

Notes: Workshops can be synchronous or asynchronous. If synchronous, we ask that workshops be scheduled on the same days (i.e. a Tuesday/Thursday class would only schedule workshops on Tuesdays or Thursdays rather than varying days)

For scheduling purposes, weekly consultants and workshops are 50-minutes and start at the top of the hour. If your section starts at half past the hour, weekly consultants and workshops will start at that time and be for 45 minutes.

Fall 2024 Consultant Classroom Support forms were due by August 15th. If you have any questions about our in-class support options, please contact Lisa Gullo, Writing Center Office Coordinator.

Writing Center Services Presentation

The Writing Center is excited to work in-person and virtually with your students. Additionally, we are happy to schedule a writing consultant to come to your class and do a 10-minute presentation on Writing Center services and how to access them. Please contact Lisa Gullo ([email protected]) if you would like to schedule a virtual or in-person classroom presentation. We also have a video walkthrough of our typical academic year information available here: Slideshow on Writing Center services.

If you have any questions regarding our current service availability, please visit our Hours and Locations page or feel free to contact us with any questions.

This is our asynchronous in-class presentation on Writing Center services.

For Teaching Writing in Your Class

Part of the writing experience is understanding the context within which we compose -- who is this for? Why did I write this? What purpose does it serve? This sort of investigation can make a paper more enjoyable to write and easier to read. Use the postcard below to coach your students through this process (metacognition).

In collaboration with Writing Across the Curriculum, the Writing Center has drafted a helpful resource regarding "the Communication Triangle" (often referred to as "the Rhetorical Triangle"). By using this post-card, writers can have a helpful guided experience with the following:

Writing for a reader
Writing within a context
Writing with a purpose
Reading any genre
Reading new information
Picking topics

For more information about ways in which writers exist in a communication context, consider viewing our helpful handouts; there, you can find information about audience expectations, language and jargon, genre facts, and much more!

Teaching Writing Video Tutorials

As part of a collaborative effort between the writing center and the SWS Director, you now have three useful instructional videos -- they can be used to better support you in your own writing process and teaching of writing OR they can be used to coach your class through any of these topics and challenges of the writing process.

Here are some great videos that provide tips, tricks, and theory regarding the best practices in the teaching of writing.

Discourse Communities

Communication Triangle

Writing as Process

SWS Fellows Program

The SWS Fellows program is an enhanced version of the classroom support normally offered to instructors through the writing center. The Fellows program involves working with a dedicated group of 5-6 writing consultants to provide enhanced writing support for students and faculty, including:

Multiple in-class workshops with a dedicated group of highly-trained writing consultants
Meetings between consultants and faculty outside of class to discuss upcoming assignments, plan workshops, and share feedback
Additional in-class workshops available all semester long
Opportunities to reflect on activities and assignments with consultants, as well as SWS and writing center administration.

Due to the scheduling limitations within the writing center, the SWS Fellows program is only available in two courses each semester. Interested faculty are encouraged to apply and participants are selected based on a variety of features (approach to writing instruction, previous use of consultants, strength of application, etc).

A student and a writing consultant working together in LOH 120

Faculty who are interested in becoming an SWS fellow should submit this SWS Fellows Application form or contact the Writing Center Director ([email protected]).

Have other questions? Stop in and visit! Or call us at 331-2922.

Page last modified September 10, 2024

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